The Devil Sees Me
by ImaXXeatXXyeh
Summary: Based off the new DMC game, Ravyn Taylor has been taking care of her little brother for nine years, but soon she encounters the demon Dante and a new relationship sparks up.Yet like her new friend, she has her own skeletons in her closet and prefers them to stay there. DanteXOC Rated M for strong language, graphic violence, and strong sexual content
1. Meeting the Storm

_**(Disclaimer: I do not own DMC Devil May Cry or its characters. This is a harmless fanfic intended for entertainment for readers.)**_

**1**

**Meeting the Storm**

Flashing neon lights from every direction. They shot past me like a hurricane as my running feet pounded beneath me on the road, my heartbeat reverberating throughout my body like a drum roll.

The city of New York was a beautiful disaster with its deceiving blinking elemental bright lights, usually coming from casinos, strips, or bars. Under the fake welcoming was a sheet of crime, danger—and demons.

Much similar to the one I was running from now, with a body that resembled a fleshless human and eyes that were similar to that of a fly. Over six-feet tall with pinchers protruding out of its mouth like a demented spider.

My breath was rough and my skin coated in a sheet of cold sweat, yet underneath the physical fear, there was a level of cocky mannerism.

I turned into a dark alleyway that sat next to a strip club named Bottom Bitch. I almost tripped on the turn, grasping the stitch in my side and pursuing further.

Man, you'd think that working out five times a week you'd be a bit better at running away from demons any night at a seconds notice.

I reached the end of the alleyway, breathing hard and heart pounding. I felt the creature pause in hesitance nearby behind me. Quickly, I turned, my hood still low, face concealed in shadow. The demon was now assuming that I was merely a juicy fly shepherded to its own web.

But I was smiling.

I raised my head. The demon's eyes could see well enough in the dark, and I knew what it saw.

A girl, nineteen at the most, hair of vivid black locks hanging just below her ribs, wearing the simple attire of blue skinny jeans and black hoodie. And yet it was the eyes that always sent people to fear me. One, a vivid, startling starlit, almost electric blue with rings of black smoke. The other, a cat-eye emerald green.

Both narrowed into an impish expression as I registered the god-awful smelling demon in front of me.

"What's the matter, bug boy?" I taunted. "Suddenly scared of little old me?"

The demon clicked its talon-like fingers together in anger. It could not speak; its mouth was promptly sewn shut with vicious stitching.

"Huh. What a change. Usually the villain spends the whole time bitching. Maybe that's why they always lose the battle," I said in a matter of fact sort of tone. I gave a small shrug. "Who knows? Maybe you'll actually win."

The demon clicked its claws together again before lunging, hands reaching ahead of it like a tiger pouncing. I leaped backward; quite literally leaped. I soared through the air, fingers clenching over the iron balcony fifteen feet high and whirling around to rest on the railing.

"You look like you've never seen a girl fight before, bugsy," I said, drawing a shimmering _katana _that gleamed in the moonlight above, drawing it high above my head and narrowing my eyes. "Though that isn't saying much. Saying you have an expression is saying that you only want a handshake from a prostitute."

I leaped forward, making a flip in the air and landing just behind the demon, drawing my sword up high and making a large slash through the demon's back. It would have screeched if it could, and did recoil at my touch.

It made a sort of strangled scream as it bolted forward. I just nearly dodged the glinting green claws.

"Poison afflicted claws? You're way too mainstream," I said, dodging another attack. I made a swipe at its arm. It came clean off, greenish blood oozing from the stump. "Ew. Gross," I said, making a face. "Off with your head, bug boy."

But this time at making a strike, I was a bit too careless. At making a swipe for its head, one of the demon's claws of its remaining hand shot up and went straight through my arm, making me cry out and jump back, taking the claw with me.

I dropped my sword, ripping off my hoodie and staring at the mess on my arm. The claw went cleanly through my skin and bone, the wound suddenly pulsating like a heartbeat. Already I could its affect; my arm started to go numb and then steadily the rest of my body.

"Oh, _fuck_," I whispered, taking the claw into my hand and wrenching it out of my arm, shouting slightly in excruciating pain.

My legs buckled beneath me. Soon the numbness spread to to my face, stomach, waist, then legs. I could no longer move. My entire body seemed to pulsate with agonizing pain.

Maybe I got a bit too cocky and full of myself. It wouldn't be the first time. But I didn't have time to die. Dying was boring. Believe me, I know.

I mentally struggled with myself as the demon knelt over me, a bit more confident now that I was immobile on the ground. Oh, hell, I knew if he could talk he would be making all kinds of snappy villain come backs to me.

There was nothing left to do but pray, and I didn't pray. It would be way too ironic.

It was only then I did realize that this demon _did _have a mouth. The stitching unraveled itself as though the thread had a mind of its own. Then, it opened its mouth. And, like some sort of weird shark, it had rows and rows of razor sharp teeth protruding from the front of its mouth to the back of its throat.

What a horrible last sight.

It leaned forward, mouth opening in a perfect 'O' and sucking like a vacuum. Then—

_SLASH._

The demon's head went rolling onto the alleyway ground, its green blood squirting on the pavement and a little on myself. All I could do was permit my eyes to roll doll-like onto the scene. They landed on a tall figure standing beside me and the now decapitated demon beside me.

And then everything went completely black.

.

"Ravyn! Come on! Come play in the snow with me!" shouted my persistent younger brother, Noah. He wore a white snow suit that was so overly padded that he looked like an enlarged marshmallow waddling to the back door and shifting it open, his little hand clenched over mine and trying to drag me out.

"Okay, okay!" I laughed, pulling on my hat over my black hair and shimming on my gloves and following him out into the winter wonderland.

"I will conquer thee!" shouted Noah to no one in particular, picking up a stick off the ground and drawing it like a sword. Snow flakes caught in his thick patch of sleek black hair and onto his fair skin. He stuck out his tongue, attempting to catch them.

"What do you want to do, Noah?" I said, placing my hands on my knees and leaning forward.

"Snowman, snowman!" he chanted, waving his little padded arms in the air, his eyes alit with excitement. Eyes that consisted of one electric blue, the other emerald green. Eyes that resembled mine, except that my blue eye was on the right, and his, left.

"Mom, dad!" I called. "C'mon! Make a snowman with us!"

"Hang on, kids," our dad laughed, opening the patio door, followed closely behind by our mother, her waist-length straight midnight hair cascading down her back and shoulders like raven's feathers, her bright eyes crinkled slightly by the large smile she held.

We built the snowman in good cheer. Dad found int the depths of the closet a black top hat and red plaid scarf. We used a carrot for a nose and pebbles to form a smile.

"What should we name him?" dad questioned, admiring our handwork.

"Ravyn!" said Noah loudly. We all looked at him in surprise.

"After your sister?" mom said.

"I'm not a boy, dummy!" I said, but I was giggling. "Why after me?"

Noah grinned. "Because Ravyn is the best sister in the world!"

.

Everything hurt. Even when my eyelids fluttered I flinched. Though I was lying on something very soft and warm. A thin cover had been placed over my body, not doing much for comfort.

I opened my eyes. The lighting was dull, the only source coming from a lamp in the corner that had no shade. I sat up slowly, flinching slightly, my hand grasping my arm. It was now heavily bandaged. It no longer hurt as much, but it was extremely sore, as though I had previously been given a shot.

I looked around the dimly lit room. It was extremely messy with empty pizza boxes spread here and there, maybe still with a crust in them. Empty beer and wine bottles littered the floor and clothes. The walls were of cheap plastic wood, proving that a simple punch would demolish it.

And there _were _holes in the wall, looking like they were caused by fists.

What a dump.

I was lying on a slightly dusty couch that smelt of must. I only had a small, slightly itchy green wool blanket cast over my body. Edgily, I shifted it aside and got to my feet. It hurt slightly to do so. It seemed the demon's poison was still taking an affect on me.

I made my way through the house. The person who lived here was no neat freak. I swear I could practically see the rug mites that covered the rug. I heard a television coming from what I assumed was the living room.

I walked towards the source of the noise. There I met an even scarier scene. In the living room a kitchen connected to it. In the sink was a mountain of such dirty dishes that held such a vivid shade of green, that they could have been any color. The counters were covered in stains and leftover rotting food. I could see the mice and bugs feasting from here.

On the couch of the living room sat a guy. A guy with tousled dark hair, broad shoulders, and starlit blue eyes. He was tall and well defined, but was only wearing a pair of black trousers, completely shirtless.

His eyes were locked on the small television that was on and coated in such a thick screen of dust that the picture was almost undecipherable. He looked up as I approached.

"Awake at last," he said. "I was afraid your eyes would never open."

I looked at him uncertainly. "Who are you?"

"Dante," he said. "Your knight in shining armor."

I made a movement as if to sit down on the couch, but saw a large bug crawl across one of the cushions and soon judged against it. Instead I folded my arms uncertainly and frowned at the stranger.

"You saved me from the demon?"

"Thought you wouldn't need it; you seemed to be doing just fine on your own," he said.

"And then you saw that the thing was going to rip my head off," I said.

He gave a small shrug. "What can I say? When a girl is about to be eaten by a bug-eyed freak, I like to be a nice guy."

"And this is your—house?" I said looking around. He gave me a sideways look.

"Don't hate on it too much. It's nice to have a place to return to after a long day. A place you can call home."

"If you can call it a home."

"What would _you _call it?" he asked defensively.

"A . . ." I said, kneeling down beside the chair, patting it softly once and seeing a cloud of dust puff out. Then I trailed my eyes onto the kitchen. "Scientific research center for undiscovered bug species."

He smirked.

"Yeah, well, you have weird eyes," he retorted childishly. "What's your name, anyway?"

"Ravyn."

"Well, Ravyn, you're lucky to be alive. What kind of demon are you?"

The question threatened the high walls I always built to any outsider. To stall, I leaned forward and examined a fish tank that had such a thick sheet of algae over the glass walls, that any fish was obscured and most likely dead.

"Not a demon," a I murmured, standing back up. I turned to face him again. "Not a full one, anyway," I added in answer to his quizzical look.

He arched an eyebrow. "You're a halfbreed? Is that even possible?"

"I'm standing here, aren't I?"

He didn't answer immediately. "Well, it would explain how that poison had any affect on you, and also why you're not dead. Normally, it would have no impact on a pureblood demon, but it would kill any human immediately. You must have had a horrible time trying to fit in at school."

I gave a hollow laugh, still standing awkwardly; too afraid to touch anything.

"Well, let me tell you that flying up to the roof of the school building did nothing to let me fit in with the other kids."

He smiled slightly.

"You know, you should really clean up around here," I said, unable to help myself. I glanced at him. "And wear a shirt."

"Well, _you _should wear pants," he smirked. I looked down and saw that the only thing that I wore was an overlarge white button up shirt that barely covered up my privates. I gave a little squeak and bent down to pick up one of the empty beer cans and threw it at his head.

He didn't dodge it but the impact of the can held no affect on him. He just continued to give me a cocky grin.

"You pervert!" I said angrily. "You _undressed _and _dressed _my unconscious body?!"

"Well, I hate to tell you, babe, but you were covered in demon innards. Green demon blood isn't really your color."

"But you couldn't have at least given me _pants?" _I demanded. He stood up. It was only then that I realized _how _tall he was. And I was short for my age.

"Yeah, but I always found the individual button up shirt on a girl really sexy," he laughed.

I glared daggers at him. "Where are my clothes?"

"In the wash. Why?"

"I have to get home. My little brother has to be worried sick."

"Doesn't he have parents to take care of him?"

I looked away. "No."

He understood. "Sorry," he said awkwardly. I glanced at him.

"Well what about you? You're obviously a demon."

"Yeah," was all he said. There was a pause.

"I have to go," I said finally. "Thanks for the—life saving and all that.

"Hang on," he said abruptly. "How old is your brother?"

"Fifteen," I said. "Why?"

"He can take care of himself for a little while; you can't go out now."

I raised my eyebrows. "Why not?"

"That demon you fought was a Pathaway demon; they travel in packs. If you go out now, they'll be right on your trail and most likely follow you to your house, putting you and your brother in trouble."

I eyed him steadily. "This wouldn't be a way of trying to get into my pants, would it?" I asked suspiciously.

He looked me up and down, then grinned.

"Right. Your nonexistent pants."

"Point taken," I admitted. "How long?"

"Just a couple of hours. Don't you have any way of contacting him?"

I reached instinctively for my pocket, then realized that I had none. "My cell phone was in my pants pocket. Did you get it?"

He looked at me innocently. "Whoops."

"You put it in the wash," I groaned.

"I'll get you a new one," he reassured me. "In the meantime, use mine." He reached into his pocket and pulled out a simple silver flip phone. I took it and began to text:

**Noah, it's Ravyn. I got into a little trouble on my way back home. I'm safe; don't worry. Don't leave the house and don't worry about me. I'll be home soon.**

I pushed the send button and snapped the phone shut and then handed it back to Dante.

"Thanks."

"No, prob. You should probably be resting anyways."

"Should I? On what clean surface?"

He looked around as if determined to prove himself, but it was in vain. He turned and sat back down on the couch, glancing at me.

"Well, don't be shy," he teased. "I don't bite—hard."

"I wouldn't sit on that couch if it saved the world from being vaporized," I stated.

He raised his eyebrows. "You're mean. I like the world."

"Sure," I said, preventing an eye roll. I went in the kitchen and pulled out a wooden table chair that was relatively clean and placing it beside him, looking at the TV.

"So," started Dante slowly, looking at me. "What _were_ you doing out at night? You have got to know by now that going into New York back alleyways is like ringing the dinner bell for demons."

"Yeah, I would. But I wasn't being hunted by the demon. I was hun_ting_."

He registered me closely. "Ah. So you lure spiders into their own webs, portraying yourself as a poor defenseless girl."

"Pretty much."

"Well, I'm impressed. Oh, and speaking of which." He bent over the side of the couch and lifted up my _katana. _"Nice sword. Did a lot of damage too. Too bad you don't know how to use it."

"Right," I said huffily, swiping it from his hand and resting it on the side of my chair. "Well, you only saw a glimpse of what I can do."

"I'm intrigued. Who taught you?"

I hesitated. "My mom. She started teaching me when I was seven."

"Damn. I can't imagine a parent giving their kid a Japanese sword to play with."

"It wasn't to play with! She took it pretty seriously. She wouldn't even let me have the sword until I could actually take down an opponent in a fair fight."

"Was it your mom you got your demon from?"

I looked at him, then slowly, nodded. "Yeah."

"And what about your eyes? I—can't stop looking at them. They're kinda freaking me out."

I laughed under my breath. "I get that a lot—or I would if I talked to a lot of people. It's been like this ever since I was ten and Noah, my brother, was six. We've been on our own for nine years."

"And you have been—taking care of him all by yourself for that long? Since you were _ten_?"

"It hasn't been easy, but we have a home, food, water. Our parents died when I was ten, then after that, it was just us."

He nodded slowly. "I never knew my parents."

I looked at him. "I'm sorry."

"We all have our tough times, some worse off than others. The only thing you have left is to be grateful for what you have left." He looked around the establishment with a hardened expression. "Anyway, chill out for the next couple of hours. I'm going to bed."

He got to his feet, not looking at me. "Hey, if you want to rest somewhere habitable, the bedroom second to last at the end of the hallway is fine."

I watched him walk into the hallway and turn into a bedroom and shut the door behind him. I looked out of the window. It was still dark. I was only out for a couple of hours.

I got to my feet and headed to the bedroom Dante instructed me to, hopes not high. But I was surprised at how actually clean it was.

There was an unmade double bed with a giant feather stuffed white blanket on it. There were clothes here and there on the floor but that was it. It wasn't any dirtier than my own room. Slightly uncertainly, I crept up to the bed and slid under the covers, which were amazingly clean.

Why hadn't he put me in this bed instead of that dirty couch?

Nonetheless, I rested my head on the soft, cool pillow and closed my eyes.

I was used to guys like Dante; I had screwed my share of them. Cocky, playful, extremely confident. And in realty I had no problem with him seeing me without pants on. He was good-looking enough to _want _to flaunt your body around.

Sure, call me a slut. It wouldn't be the first time. But do you notice when a guy sleeps around he's considered macho, but when a girl does for the first time she's automatically a whore?

Such a fair world.

Though strangely I've never had sex with another demon. I can imagine it would be a mind-blowing experience.

I smiled to myself and snuggled further into the cotton sheets, feeling sleep drift back into my system. It was a dreamless sleep, unlike the last one, for which I remained grateful; visiting memories of my parents was painful. More painful than to forget about them. I wish I could.

When I awoke, it didn't feel like I got much sleep and when I looked outside it was still dark. Narrowing my eyes tiredly, I looked around. My eyes landed on someone standing right next to the bed, staring down at me with a blank expression.

He had a sheet of light, silvery shaggy hair that got in the way of his bright blue eyes that almost resembled Dante's completely. In fact, the facial structure was completely identical. He held a toothbrush loosely in his mouth and looked as though he had only just saw me.

He was also completely naked.

"Dante," said the guy slowly. "Why is there an unknown female in my bed?"

Dante suddenly appeared in the doorway very quickly. He now had a dirty white undershirt on and was watching the scene. Catching sight of the stranger, he suddenly burst out laughing.

"God, this is better than I imagined," he chortled.

"Am I going to be let in why there is a naked man in front of me?" I said, drawing the covers protectively up to my chin.

"Am I going to be let in why there is a half naked girl in my bed?" he inquired, glaring at Dante.

"Vergil, this girl got in the way of a nasty Pathaway demon, so I helped her out. And Ravyn, this is my brother, Vergil."

"Twins?" I questioned. Dante nodded.

"I half assumed she was a stray you picked up," said Vergil, seeming supremely unconcerned that he was exposing everything to an unknown girl. "The last time that happened you plagued my bedroom for three weeks."

I raised my eyebrows to Dante. "Three weeks?"

He leaned on the doorway, giving him his crooked cocky smile. "Why? Are the guys you're usually with not up to your stamina expectations?"

I decided not to answer that. "Well, thanks for the hospitality, Dan, but I should be going." I got to my feet, shaking my mane of hair behind my back and enjoying the fact that I must have looked good in their eyes.

He raised his eyebrows in surprise. "Already? I was hoping we could—"

"Another time, maybe," I said with a sly smile, glancing at Vergil. It was impossible not to glance down. Damn. Not bad. I looked back at Dante. "I have to get back to my brother."

"Be my guest. See you around, Rave."

I gathered my clothes out of the wash and pulled the skin tight jeans on my legs, allowing Dante to watch from behind and then slipping off the button down shirt so I was merely in bra and jeans.

"There you go," I said, tossing him the shirt. He grinned and caught it.

"Sure you can't stay a little longer? It may still be rough out there."

I met his eyes, hands clenching my white tank top.

"I like it rough."

That definitely sparked something in his blue eyes. He smirked.

"You usually flirt with strangers?"

"You usually take in stranger girls to your house?"

"If I answer that, you'll hit me."

I grinned, slipping on my shirt and turned to him, drawing close to him so that we almost touched. I was such a midget to him that I only came up to his chest.

"Who knows? Maybe you'll like it."

He looked down at me, the corners of his lips twitching. His eyes fixated on my own, then scanned the rest of my body, its defined curves making them known in my tight shirt and pants.

I trailed my hands teasingly down his chest, then pressing over his hard abdomen that was undeniably impressive and desirable. I was always a sucker for six packs. My hand crept for an infinitesimal second on his hard crotch before withdrawing. A second so quick that it might has well have not happened.

Okay, yeah. I was a whore.

"Gotta go," I said, still grinning. Then, leaving him there in the small laundry room, I snatched up my _katana _and headed out of the door and into the night once more.


	2. A Deal with the Devil

**2**

**A Deal with the Devil**

Noah seemed completely intrigued by the story of the two demons, Dante and Vergil. Much more than I assumed he would be.

"So, you just woke up in their house after he—saved you?" he questioned for about the fifth time. I was in the kitchen of our tiny apartment. It was placed in the bad part of New York. The really bad part. So bad that if you doidle too long out on the front porch at night you would probably get mugged.

Yet for an apartment that wasn't too shabby, had two bedrooms, mediocre bathroom, and running water, it wasn't so bad for five hundred a month.

I was in the middle of cooking for pasta for the pair of us while Noah sat at the kitchen table doing his homework. Or he was supposed to be doing his homework.

"Yes, for the fiftieth time," I said, half laughing, pouring the steaming pasta into the strainer that sat in the sink.

"Lucky he was there," he said, placing the end of his pencil between his front teeth out of habit.

"I think he was at the strip club," I said thoughtfully, pouring the tomato sauce over the noodles and then adding Parmesan cheese.

Noah laughed.

He had been through the most noticeable changes in the past nine years, even more than myself who always remained short. He was now taller than myself at almost six feet, fair skin, and green and blue eyes brighter than ever.

He was even a heart throb, from what I could tell. In the present he was dating a girl called Summer Rosenberg, a girl I only met on a few occasions and seemed to thoroughly like Noah.

You wouldn't think it, but I had always been strict with Noah and school, even when I was ten. Ever since our parents died. But those days were the worst, without a doubt.

We were homeless for a long time, and the only reason we didn't die was because we were both half demons, therefore having half the body and innards of one. We didn't always have to eat human food and we didn't have to ear every day.

The longest we could go without eat was a week and a half, and sometimes we ended up resorting to the rats in the sewers, our half demon system immune to the diseases they held for us.

Also no one could easily take out two half-breeds, even if we _were _young. It's basically like assaulting two young hungry tigers. We never resorted to feeding off humans, even though strictly speaking, it wouldn't be cannibalism.

And over the years, when we both got mediocre paid jobs, we eventually got ourselves an apartment and were able to live a bit more humanely. But that still didn't stop me from going out almost every night and hunting off all the demons.

"So, how's school going?" I inquired after placing his plate in front of him and then seating myself down. I myself had not finished middle school or high school; I had no time. I was too busy taking care of Noah and working up the money to get a place.

"School is—fine," he said, slurping up some noodles. "We have a new history teacher, not that that's the greatest news flash in the world. Your day has been a lot more exciting."

I shrugged. "If you call being poisoned and nearly having your head chomped off by a demon who has fly eyes exciting, then it's your piece of cake."

"Wish you would let me come with you on your hunts," he muttered into his pasta, stirring his fork absentmindedly.

I shot a quick look at him, almost dropping my own fork.

"Noah; _no. _We've talked about this a hundred times! It's too dangerous! _I _almost died tonight and I'm trained!"

"Then teach me!" he said angrily, setting his fork in his pasta and glaring at me. "Honestly, if I'm going to be attacked by the same people who killed mom and dad, I need to be able to defend myself!"

We both new the potential threat of the demon horde that killed our parents hovered over us like a persistent gray rain cloud; we had barely escaped them ourselves and knew it was possible they were still searching for us. Yet so far in the nine years since our parent's death no such thing has happened.

"And how do I know you're not going to go off for your own demon hunting escapades?" I demanded. "You're too young for that."

"You were seven when mom taught you!" he retorted harshly.

"That was because I was the eldest and mom wanted me to be able to protect you if anything ever happened to her and dad. Worked out, didn't it?"

He shifted his glare back onto his pasta before shoving him and his chair away from the table and picking up his backpack in a fierce manner.

"You still think I'm six," he said acidly. "I'm a lot older now; I should be learning how to defend _myself _now. I'll be in my room."

And then he stormed off. I took a deep breath, running my fingers through my hair and shaking my head.

How did parents do it? I had to act as both a mom and a dad, teacher, counselor, and role model, _and _I had all my demon hunting to do. I wasn't even twenty yet.

But complaining about it wasn't going to make things better. A thing I learned the hard way.

What would mom do? She would try and compromise.

Great.

I waited a bit though, deciding to attend to the stack of bills on the kitchen table. It was well past ten when I was finished. I sighed and got to my feet, stretched, then heated Noah's bowl of pasta in the microwave.

When finished, I walked up to Noah's door and knocked once before opening it. Noah sat in the corner on his single bed, arms behind his head and staring up at the ceiling. He didn't look at me as I entered.

"You, um, didn't finish dinner," I said awkwardly, setting it on his desk. "Thought you might be hungry."

He glanced at me. "Thanks."

Tenderly, I sat myself on the foot of his bed. "I know—that things are hard right now. Really hard. But remember that they were harder. We could still be living on the streets off street rats. And, I think that it's fair if I teach you the basics of fighting," I added.

He looked at me fully. "Really?"

"As long as you don't go out looking for a fight," I finished defiantly. "You're right; you're going to need to fight sometime in life, and sooner could be better if you don't abuse your own power."

Slowly, he sat upright, crossing his legs and resting his arms on his knees.

"Deal."

I looked at him in surprise. "That was easy."

"If anything, you have it worse than me. But it's not a competition on whose life is shittier. But I understand where you're coming from. I'll only use it for self defense."

"Promise?" I asked suspiciously.

He laughed under his breath. He held out his pinky.

"Pinky promise."

It was a thing we did ever since we were kids. I rolled my eyes and chuckled, twisting my pink finger in his.

"Deal," I repeated, nodding.

.

**Dante POV**

"You and your fucking booty calls," Vergil said in an irritated tone, rubbing his wet starlight hair with a white towel.

"Dammit, Vergil. She was almost demolished by a Pathaway demon; I told you," Dante retorted shrewdly. He was lounging on the dusty armchair, arms crossed and glaring out of the window.

"Whatever. She didn't seem your type, anyway. You usually like the tall blondes who have more boobs than brains."

"I'm glad that my own brother has such a high opinion on me."

"Well, she said 'another time'. Maybe you'll get lucky, though I doubt it."

Dante suddenly looked at his twin. "Whaddya' mean?" he demanded quickly.

Vergil looked at him sideways, permitting Dante to see his smirk.

"Maybe you finally found a girl that's smart."

"How is she smart?"

"Because she didn't screw you," said Vergil calmly. Dante scowled.

"Oh, real smooth," Dante scathed. "You are so amusing."

"I get it from dad." Vergil sighed, ruffling his white shaggy head. "If you really think you can get in her pants, prove it."

"I've got nothing to prove to you," scoffed Dante, shifting his weight in his chair.

"Sure. But you said she was pretty good out there dueling that demon?"

Dante sighed, kneading his eyes with his fingers. "Not bad, for a half-demon. She's gone all 'Buffy the Vampire Slayer' with them though. She even has the stupid puns."

"Every cocky fighter has to have their stupid puns; it's what makes them cocky. Anyways, if she's as good as you say she is, maybe she can help you get all of these demons off your ass. Did you tell her that Pathaway demon was really after you?"

Dante shook his head. "Nope. She probably would have hurt me, and lately I'm against being hurt."

"So why not ask for her help?"

Dante shot him a look. "What? Ask that little squirt to be my personal bodyguard?"

"No, Dante. Help. You're too thick skulled to realize that you actually need it."

Dante didn't answer. He let out a low breath and ran his fingers through his hair. He got up from the armchair. "I'm going to bed. Again."

"Sweet dreams, princess."

Before descending back into his bedroom, Dante stopped in the laundry room. On the ground was a small blue device. Dante bent down and picked it up. It was a blue Razor flip phone. He opened it. It was working. It must have not gone in the wash after all.

Making a mental note to somehow get it to Ravyn, Dante pocketed it. He went to his bedroom, stripped down naked, then hurled himself in his bed, almost falling asleep instantly.

.

**Ravyn POV**

Sunshine crept through the window, and it was most unwelcome. I turned in my bed so fiercely that I fell off it. Tiredly, I raised my messy bed head over the top of the bed, yawned, then tried to detangle myself from my blankets that were keeping me captive as a human burrito.

When free, I crept outside into the kitchen where Noah was already sitting at the kitchen table with a bowl of Rice Crispies and finishing last minute homework.

"Hey, sport," I said, ruffling his hair before sitting myself down at the table and pouring myself a bowl of cereal. "So, I was thinking . . . you still like that band, Red, right?"

He looked up from his cereal.

"Yeah?" he said uncertainly.

"Well—I kinda sorta bought two tickets last night for their concert that's showing here on the eighth."

He dropped his spoon. "You didn't."

I grinned. "I did. Two backstage tickets, baby!"

His face alit, but then was suddenly darkened.

"What?" I said, surprised.

"Rave, we can't afford this. They are way too much."

I rolled my eyes. "Yeah, you say that after I got them. Anyways, I didn't have to pay for them."

His eyes widened. "How?"

"Do you remember that guy I dated last year? Blaine?"

His face cringed. "The guy that smelled like meatloaf?"

I frowned. "He did not."

"You are so in denial."

I opened my mouth, then closed it and shrugged. "Well, he's best friends with the lead singer and he was able to spare us two tickets. Completely free of charge!"

He stared at me. "This is amazing."

"Right?" I laughed. His phone suddenly went off. I reached for my pocket automatically but then remembered that it went through the wash.

"Whoop, that's the bus," he said, getting to his feet and washing his bowl quickly in the sink. "See you later! And thanks a lot!"

He gave me an extra hug before grabbing his backpack running out of the building, his excited energy practically fuming off him. My smile faltered slightly in his absence.

The tickets were going to be a real strain on my budget. It was really cutting it close.

Why didn't I tell him the truth? Because Noah was too good to ever accept something as big as this. And I couldn't _stand _it that he couldn't grow up like all the other normal teenage boys; he needed some memories to cherish.

Well, that just meant I had to do a few extra hours at the bar. Oh, yeah. I'm a barmaid at a sketchy little bar called Snake's Eye. The reason why it was so sketchy was because the outfits were so risqué. The manager, Mr. Clarke, had a theory that the sluttier the girls dressed, the more customers he would gain, mainly men.

The sad part was that it was true.

But it was well paid and right now I couldn't turn down something like that; I couldn't afford not to. I got up, stretched, then went to clean my bowl.

Time to start the day.

I went to my room, changed into gray sweats and work out white bra then put my hair in a high ponytail. I walked onto the front porch, squinting into the sun's light before starting a healthy jog on the sidewalk.

If I were to perform my all, it would look too suspicious. Demons in general had an impenetrable system with flawless stamina, muscle, and strength. This was one of the many things that I acquired from my demon mother.

I humored at the thought of ever joining a marathon, but thought better of it. They would test my blood for steroids, but they wouldn't find drugs. Who knows what kind of weird shit was in half-demon blood?

In my huntings, like Dante said, I played out to be the powerless girl, such as what happened last night. In realty I could be a potential golden medal Olympic champion.

At the gym, I signed in and started out in the weight room and immediately began to slam my fists against the dangling punching bag, beating it so fiercely that it kept rebounding on the chain that held it from the ceiling.

Working out did a lot of things for me, such as relieving pounds of stress, and readying me for my next battle.

The bandage Dante placed around my arm had already come off, revealing a completely healed surface. Being half-demon really has its virtues sometimes.

I took a break after a few hours, my skin covered in a layer of sweat and my chest heaving slightly. I descended into the showers, wiping off all the stinky workout sweat.

I always liked the feeling of my wet hair cascading down my back whenever taking a shower after smothering it in shampoo and conditioner. I almost never took showers at my own house; it was a helluva lot cheaper to just take them here.

As I exited the shower, the locker room was quite deserted, the overhead light flickering slightly. I frowned as I pulled a towel over my body, looking at the light. Was it flickering before? And where had everyone gone?

Something wasn't right.

I narrowed my eyes, craning my ears, expanding my sense, but I all received was a strong foreboding feeling.

Then, one by one, each of the showers turned on. From the left tot the right, the cheap showers began bursting their water at full power. I was starting to feel like I was in a horror movie.

But instead of draining, the water started to pour out of the showers, but it wasn't clear. It was a vivid, deep, tar black, oozing from under the shower curtains and expanding out onto the bathroom tile floor, moving on its own.

Then the sludge began to rise, materializing itself into a form that had a body, head, and two long arms, the black ooze dripping from it. Another demon. It had no visible eyes or any face for that matter, but I knew that wasn't going to stop it from seeing me.

But man, it _stunk. _It smelt like a skunk spray mixed in with rotten eggs and meat. The smell burnt my nostrils to a point of unendurable stinging.

I looked around for any possible weapon, but I didn't bring my _katana _with me; it would have looked odd jogging down the street with it.

So, it was just me and my bare fists. And pretty much bare everything; I didn't have time to put clothes on.

"_Daaantee . . ._" it breathed in an eerie, raspy voice that didn't seem to come exactly from its body, but from all around, reverberating off the walls that were now cracked as though an earthquake had hit us.

How the _hell _had I been dragged into Limbo?! And more importantly, why was this piece of shit saying Dante's name?

"Do I look like a Dante to you?" I said. "Does Dante have boobs? I don't think so."

The thing emitted a strangled, gurgling growl.

"I don't appreciate demons dragging me into Limbo, sludge. _Especially _when I'm naked."

The thing shot one of its arms like a bizarre tar hose. I just barely dodged, still clutching my towel to my body. No weapon. Right.

I darted to the sink, grasped my hands over the edge of the white glass and then ripped it out of the counter. Water sprayed everywhere from the now open pipe, hitting the demon right in the stomach. This proved to have no impact.

But now I had a sink. Suck it.

I darted forward, colliding the sink in with the demon's head. This had no affect either. It merely dissolved it into its body.

No sink. Never mind.

But how do you fight a big clump of tar? Fight tar with tar? Or . . . fight fire with tar?

Okay. Now, follow me you big disgusting, smelly, blob of crap. My eye were on the door that held the water heater. I swiftly made my way to my locker and opened it as fast as I could, nearly dodging another blast of tar.

I pulled out a lighter from my backpack then hurled myself through the air and just over the demon, landing on the tiled floor and beside the water heater. I threw open the door just in time. It acted as a shield against another blast. I had to act quickly.

I ripped off one of the water heater's pipes, the one that had fuel running into it. I took it into my hands, shoved the door aside and pointed the flowing tube that acted as a hose towards the demon.

It happened at the same time. My blast of fuel hit the demon just as his eruption of black ooze hit me square in the chest, making me hurl backward onto the wall behind me, in collision causing it to crack.

Catching my breath, I raised the lighter, flipped it open, flicked it on, then tossed it in the air where it landed on the demon. The affect was immediate.

The blob demon _exploded, _causing its muck to cover the bathroom completely. There was a sound like a dropping anvil, and then I was out of Limbo. But the demon mess still remained.

There was so much gook that I actually blended into the wall. Edgily, I ripped myself from the wall and tried to stand, but the slime was too heavy.

"God dammit!" I exclaimed out loud. "Why is it always _me _that gets covered in demon innards?!"

The bathroom. Was. Destroyed.

The broken sink was now stuck on the ceiling, the broken pipes spraying water everywhere, and _every _inch was covered in the black tar.

Well, shit.

.

I broke my own rule and ended up taking a shower back at home. I had run from the scene of the bathroom as soon as I could. I avoided most of pedestrian eyes by jumping from rooftop to rooftop up above.

I didn't want to be around when they found _that _mess. What would they even think of it? That someone went a little wild with the black paint?

Noah had only just got home when I got back. I swear, his eyes had grown as big as dinner plates when he saw me head to foot covered in black sludge. Though, amusingly so, he didn't seem to think it too normally out of my common schedule.

I had to stay in the shower for a full hour to get all of the muck out of my hair and body. By the time I was finished the water was stone cold.

Shivering, I pulled on my maroon silk bathrobe and put my hair up in a messy bun. Outside in my room, I heard voices coming from the front door. I peered outside my bedroom door.

Noah was facing the open door, eyes narrowed on whoever he was looking at.

"No, my sister doesn't want to see you . . . uh, Leo?"

"I'm not Leo!" said a very familiar voice.

"Jon?"

"I'm not Jon either!"

"Quinn—no, Jerry?"

"Christ, how many boyfriends has your sister had?!"

I crept to the front door and looked over Noah's shoulder to see none other than Dante. His eyes switched onto me immediately.

"It's alright, Noah; this is Dante."

Noah's expression softened. "Oh, Dante from last night?"

I nodded.

"Well, sweet. Come on in," said Noah with a dramatic change of demeanor.

Dante glanced at Noah before walking in past him. He was wearing a different pair of black trousers, white undershirt, and heavy black coat that resembled a trench coat.

"How did you find me?" I inquired, closing the door behind him.

"Looked you up," he said simply. He pulled something out of his pocket and tossed it to me. I caught it and looked down at it. My Razor cell. I looked at him, half smirking.

"You came all this way to give me my broken cell phone?"

"Not really," he said with another glance at Noah. "And it's not broken. I guess it came out of your pants pocket before I put it in the washing machine."

"Oh," I said, opening it. I looked at him. "Cool, thanks."

"No prob."

I set my cell on the kitchen table and smiled up at him. He was standing there awkwardly looking slightly uncertain about something.

"Don't be scared. It's called a floor," I teased. "I assume you have never seen one since your floor consists of cans, pizza boxes, clothes, bugs, and rodents."

Noah made a face. "I'm gonna go watch TV," he said, shaking his head. He left into the den and then there was the sound of the television turning on.

Dante chuckled under his breath. "Nice kid."

"Sit," I offered, pointing at the table. "Want some coffee? Tea? Wine?"

"Got anything stronger?" he inquired as he sat down. I grinned as I turned my back on him and walked into the kitchen.

"Sure. I still have a full bottle of 51."

He raised his eyebrows. "Damn. You don't joke around."

"Well, I was saving it, but why not?" I said, standing on my tippy toes in attempt to pull it out of the highest counter.

"Here," said Dante. He was suddenly right behind me without me gaining any knowledge of him being there. Or so quickly. I glanced at him sideways over my shoulder. He pulled the bottle easily from the top counter, grinning. "You're such a shrimp."

"Short people are sexy," I smirked, grinning back up at him and taking the bottle from his hands. I pulled out two shot glasses and laid them out in front of me. "How much?"

"Depends. Middle of the glass is usually entertaining, top of the glass usually gets wild."

I bit down on a smile as I turned my back to him again and poured it nearly to the brim. I brought the glasses to the table, shifting his to him before sitting down.

"You like things wild," he noted, taking it into his hand.

The corners of my lips twitched.

"Cheers."

We both drained our glasses. The stuff felt like someone had poured gasoline down my throat and then threw a lighter on it.

"Phew," I said, placing it back on the table.

"So, Rave, what have you been up to today?" Dante inquired as he set down his glass. I began to trace my finger over the brim of my glass.

"Funny you should ask that," I said, looking up at him. He arched an eyebrow.

"Yeah?"

"I was in the gym showers today," I started leisurely.

"Okay, so far, I'm liking it," he said with an impish grin. I only half-heartily returned it.

"And a demon attacked me and sucked me into Limbo."

His smile faltered. "What?"

"And that's not all," I said, ignoring him. "He said your name."

His expression hardened. "My name?"

"Yeah. Like it was searching for you. But why come to me? Unless, this is my theory anyway, it saw me with you. Then, maybe it thought I knew where you were. But the question is," I added, studying his face carefully, looking for any hints of discomfort. "Why was it looking for you in the first place?"

Dante shifted himself in his chair, glancing out at the window.

"All kinds of demons have been after me lately, including that Pathaway demon."

I arched an eyebrow, staring at him. "You're serious?"

He met my eyes. "Yeah. I don't know why it started to chase you, though. There I was, ready to battle, then all of sudden it just catches your scent and runs off. I wasn't sure what to think of it. But I guess now they're starting to realize that you know me, and that's why that demon attacked you in the gym."

I sat back in my chair, gazing at him.

"I need another drink," I muttered, getting my glass and walking back into the kitchen.

"I didn't think they'd think anything of it since I'm—well . . ." he faded off awkwardly. I looked up at him as I filled up another shot glass.

"You're?" I prompted, eyes narrowed slightly.

"I'm kinda with a lot of girls, so I don't know why it suddenly thinks that you're significant."

I rolled my eyes before downing my glass again.

"Thanks."

"Not like that," he said irritably. "You know what I mean."

I shrugged, taking the bottle in my hand and bringing it to the table where Dante refilled his own glass.

"Why do you have demons coming after you?" I asked as he finished off another glass.

He didn't answer but refilled yet another glass. His tolerance must have been really high.

"Fair enough," I said. "After all, we just met."

He looked out of the window again.

"Anyway, I didn't come here just to give you your cell back."

I raised my eyebrows. "Oh yeah?"

He stood up, and I was impressed at how stable he was. "Not just a booty call either."

I clasped my hand to my chest and gave him a mock-hurt expression. "How offended I am."

He gave me a crooked grin. "I saw your skills and what you can do. And—since you're already inevitably involved, I was gonna ask if you want to join the team."

I was extremely taken aback. "What team?"

"Well, my brother and I, really," he said. "You've been fighting lone-wolf for a long time, babe. Thought you might be interested in a trio."

I looked at him, a small grin coiling on my lips. "Trios _are _always most fun."

He grinned back. "So what do you think, cat-eye? Three of us going out on nights and going to fight some demon scum side-by-side? Maybe even get to know each other a little bit," he added.

I smirked, placing one of my legs on the table top so it slipped from underneath my silk bathrobe and lay there quite exposed to Dante who looked from the leg to me, still grinning.

"I think I'd like that," I said smoothly.


	3. Joining Up

**3**

**Joining Up**

"Don't be afraid to hurt me, Noah. Just come at me," I instructed.

It was midday. Noah and I stood in the abandoned back alleyway and I was living up to my promise; I was teaching him the basics of fighting. The sky was an endless shade of gray that hovered over the city, seeming to try and seep misery into the people below.

Noah moved forward and placed a firm but uncertain punch to my stomach. It hurt slightly, but the pain was immediately gone.

"Noah, I don't know how you're going to do attacking someone when you can't let out your all to someone who's _asking _you to hit them," I said slowly.

Noah groaned. "I can't just hit my _sister_," he protested.

"Cause I'm a girl?" I smirked.

"No, because I'm afraid you'll hurt me," he muttered.

I snorted.

"What we need is a punching bag or something," I said. "We can't go to the gym now because, um, they haven't been so nice to me ever since I set a 'tar bomb' in their bathroom."

Noah laughed.

"What about me?"

Noah and I looked around. Dante was lounging on one of the higher fire escapes with a smirk that I could see even from down here. I couldn't prevent a grin.

"What about you?" I asked.

Dante got to his feet and soared from the railing and landed smoothly on his feet, his trench coat swooping around his legs. He held his sword over his shoulder, still grinning.

"Let me help your brother."

I raised my eyebrows. "Aren't you here to take me to that organization of your brother's?"

"I got a minute to spare," he said confidently.

"Yeah!" said Noah enthusiastically, looking at me eagerly. I glanced at him, my mouth parted slightly.

I wasn't all keen on having Dante 'train' my little brother. Dante was too unpredictable and for all I knew, he would end up throwing him across the city and ending up on the Statue of Liberty.

"I can be gentle when I want to be," added Dante as if reading my mind. I would have said no, but Dante was giving me the half-smile and he seemed to catch on that that was my krypotonite. I rolled my eyes.

"Fine. Go ahead," I said, but I was smiling.

I walked into the shadows and leaned against the brick wall, one foot against it and folding my arms, watching Noah and Dante. Noah looked as though his birthday had come early.

"Alright, kid. First of all, your stance is all wrong," said Dante leisurely. "You have to be in a position that makes you ready to move at any second. Hold them apart slightly. Good. Now, aim a punch at me."

Noah seemed slightly taken aback at having asked so quickly to attack Dante, but took it in his stride. He moved forward and lunged his fist towards Dante. But he was longer there. Dante was suddenly behind Noah.

Noah, confused, whirled around.

"Too predictable," said Dante.

"But you _told _me to hit you!" said Noah, both irritated and slightly apprehensive.

"And if an enemy told you to do something, would you do it? You have to learn how to fight at your own pace. Don't think; let your body do the thinking. It will come naturally. In training, I am completely your enemy. I'm not Dante. I'm not someone who you know; I'm someone attacking you and you have to do everything in your power to stop me."

Dante glanced at me before turning back to Noah. My eyes narrowed slightly.

Noah sighed then nodded, getting back into his stance, fists raised. This time, Dante moved without warning. Noah barely had anytime to react and merely jumped backward, hands covering his face.

Dante stopped right in front of him, hands just hovering over his neck.

"You'd be dead now," said Dante. "Rule number one: never freeze in a fight. It doesn't matter if you run away screaming like a girl."

At this I arched an eyebrow. "Oh, so you think being a girl means we're weak?"

Dante looked around at me, grinning slightly. "Depends on the girl."

"Is that a challenge?"

"Would you accept it?"

I studied him carefully, biting down on an inevitable grin.

"Fine. Noah, how about a little demonstration of how real fighting is done?"

Dante raised up his hands. "Oh, I'm scared now. I've got a midget intimidating me."

"Smaller means quicker and more stamina," I smirked. "Whilst you, a giant, only work with brute force."

"Brute force comes in handy sometimes," he grinned.

Noah was looking back and forth at the pair of us, evidently confused.

"Are you guys still talking about fighting?" he asked uncertainly. We both looked at him, then decided not to answer.

"No weapons; just bare fists," said Dante.

"Sounds good to me. And how about whoever loses has to—buy them drinks tonight?"

Dante looked at me in mock surprise. "I can't buy you a drink; you're underage."

"Oh, are you that certain that you''ll lose?" I teased. The corner's of Dante's mouth twitched.

"Fine. I'll be making sure to order the most expensive one on the board."

I grinned.

"Bring it, hulk."

We both moved at the same time, maybe so fast that it was impossible for the human eye to see. We came in collision with each other, dodging each other's punches and throwing them. I jumped upward, placing my hands on Dante's shoulders and hurled myself upward so I was doing a handstand on him, then flipped myself backward landed on my feet, then aimed a sidekick at his side.

He caught my leg and whirled me around so that my other leg was pressed against his chest. I pushed off from him and did a back flip, landing on my feet.

"Not bad. For a halfy," Dante taunted. I raised my eyebrows again.

"Oh, you so did not just call me a halfy," I said.

"What are you going to do about it?"

I leaped forward, my hands coming in impact with his chest so I pushed him to the ground and fell on him, merely sitting on him as my hands held him still on his chest.

"Don't go so easy on me, Rave," he said passively.

"Who says I'm easy?"

I saw a flash of his cocky grin before he pushed me off him. He took me by the shoulders and slammed me against the brick wall. It hurt. A lot. I heard Noah let out a sort of half-yell, apparently not sure if Dante was really hurting me.

"You said you like it rough," said Dante in my ear, only quiet enough for me to hear. I smirked. In a whirl, I wrapped my legs around his waist then pulled him onto the ground and then rolled him onto him again, but placed my arm against his throat lightly, our faces mere inches apart.

I leaned forward so my lips were a mere centimeter from his ear and my hair acted as a curtain, completely obscuring our faces.

"I also like to be on top," I whispered.

I retracted, sitting upright. Dante was giving me a devilishly handsome smile.

"I win," I stated. I got off him and stood upright. Noah looked extremely confused.

"So—am I supposed to attack my enemy, or have sex with them?" he inquired as Dante, still smirking at me, got to his feet too.

"Depends," said Dante which made me punch him in the stomach. "Fine. You win. We'll have to do this again, Noah."

"Sure," said Noah, rolling his eyes. "I learned so much."

"I'm glad," said Dante who was obviously not listening, but looking at me. "So, we should get out of here. Vergil expected us a while ago."

I nodded. "So, Noah; do your homework, dinner is in the cupboard, then go to bed by ten."

Noah turned and waved his hand up in the air, indicating that he had heard me.

Dante led me to the front of the apartment building to a silver, slightly fading car that looked slightly shabby. Inside, beer cans littered the floor and the leather seats were ripped in places, exposing the yellow styrofoam. There were a number of burnt cigarettes in the ashtray and littered slightly onto the carpeted floor.

"I like how you clean up for a girl," I said, trying to adjust the shade but it fell to the floor.

"I don't like having to prove myself," he said, lighting up a cigarette and inhaling deeply.

"Fair enough."

We drove off into the city. We were both silent for a while as Dante cranked up the volume and a heavy metal song started up.

"Want one?" he offered, holding out a pack of cigarettes, holding his own loosely between his lips.

"No thanks. I don't smoke; not the best habit."

"And drinking is?" he said, but he stuffed them back in his jean pocket. "Besides, being half-demon, smoking and shit won't do as much harm to you as others."

I didn't answer but looked out of the window.

"What's it called again?" I inquired as Dante parked the car in the back of a deserted back alleyway.

"The Order," he said.

"An organization that hunts down demons? And your brother runs it?"

He glanced at me, a thick cloud of smoke releasing from his mouth.

"You got it."

We exited the car and out into the slightly cold air. Dante led me to what looked like an abandoned warehouse. Feeling slightly uncertain, I watched Dante bent down and pulled open a garage door. The entrance was dark and slightly foreboding.

Dante took one last whiff of his cigarette before flicking it on the ground and crushing it beneath his heel. He indicated inside the door.

"Ladies first."

"Most guys say that just because they like to view girl's asses," I said lightly, smiling slightly.

He smirked. "And are you going to deny me such a view?"

I just grinned before walking in before him, looking around. I heard Dante close the door behind us. Now enclosed in darkness, I saw a bluish light up ahead. Dante smiled slightly at my uncertain expression and nodded forward.

I followed him inside. There were a spare few people working on computers in the dim light, not looking up as we passed. I was taking everything in. It looked as though someone had planted away a stereotype laboratory in the least significant part of town.

"Now, where is that silver-haired pain in my ass?" said Dante randomly as we entered the main room that held more computers, people, and machinery.

"Dante!"

We both turned to see a girl. She was small with a violet hoodie over her head. Her eyes were a large, lynx-like light blue and had a blue star tattoo on her forehead. She looked from Dante to myself.

"This is the girl you were talking about? The half-demon?"

Dante nodded. "Kat, this is Ravyn. Ravyn—Kat," he said loosely.

"Nice to meet you," I said. She gave me a small smile.

"Same to you. You have incredibly beautiful eyes."

Instinctively I brushed some of my hair behind my ear.

"Yeah? Usually people are freaked out by them," I said slowly. I caught Dante's eye before looking back at Kat.

"They're different; people are scared of difference," she said lightly.

"Kat's a Medium, meaning she can see demons and Limbo, but technically isn't physically there," explained Dante. "So where is my dear twin?"

"Right here," said Vergil, seeming to come out of nowhere. He addressed me leisurely. "Good to see you again, Ravyn."

"With pants on this time," I said, biting down on a smile. He smiled slightly.

"Pants are overrated," said Dante in a matter of fact sort of tone. Kat's eyebrows were raised.

"I didn't realize you and Vergil, uh—met," she said.

"The other day," I said, nodding. "Anyway, weren't you going to tell me about your little group here?"

"Our 'little group' is an organization made in favor of wiping demons off the earth," said Vergil slowly. "More specifically, in taking down Mundus. The demon king."

I raised my eyebrows. "The 'demon king'?" I said with ill attempt not to crack a smile. "Good to know he still keeps up his originality."

Dante gave me my favorite crooked smile.

"Mundus is a powerful demon with almost power beyond limits. He runs this city and the social media, turning the people against whomever he wishes," continued Vergil as though he had not been interrupted.

"Including yours truly," said Dante irritably. "He's making me out to be some sort of pedophile terrorist. He's got cameras everywhere. Luckily, I know how to avoid most of them."

"_Some _of them," corrected Kat. "If they spot you, it's a one-way ticket to Limbo."

"And now that you're involved, cat-eye, I would say that you're right up there with me in the 'wanted' section," smirked Dante.

"Thanks," I murmured. "Why _are _you wanted?"

There was thick pause. I wasn't expecting intensity. I looked from Vergil to Dante, eyes narrowing.

"Look, I know I've only known you guys for a few days, but if you want me to work for you, I have to know _who _I'm working for," I said sternly.

"She has a point," said Kat.

Another pause.

"Alright, Ravyn. But remember that the information I'm about to reveal to you is confidential and should only be addressed professionally," said Vergil. "Listen carefully."

At this moment Dante had taken a great interest in the wall with hands deep in pockets and frowning slightly. I focused my attention back onto Vergil.

"Have you ever heard of Sparda?" questioned Vergil.

This caught me slightly off guard. "The—high and almighty demon guy?" I said uncertainly. "What about him?"

Vergil glanced at Dante before registering me again.

"He's our father."

Yet another silence. I stared at him.

"He—Sparda is—?" I stuttered, looking from him to Dante.

Vergil nodded. "But that's not the whole story. Sparda fell in love, but not just with anyone; with the angel, Eva. Our mother. We are the hybrid of both angel and demon, henceforth becoming Nephilim. The Nephilim were hunted out hundreds of years ago, but the demons know of Dante. That's why they keep hunting him down."

I gaped, my mouth opening slowly, preparing to form words, but found that I was literally speechless.

"Something we have in common," said Vergil, jumping into my continued drawing silence. "Being half-demon, I mean."

"But—half demon, half _angel_?!" I managed to get out. "How is that even possible?"

"It goes against all laws, but technically speaking, it is not impossible for an angel and demon to mate, just as it is the same with demons and humans. You are the result of that. You carry the soul that is split into both human and demon energy."

"Yet not an angel," I muttered. I looked at Dante. "So—_this _is why they are hunting you down?"

"More specifically, because Nephilim have entrance to both worlds, and Mundus and his demons don't like the idea of something out there with that much power. They know of Dante, yet not of me."

"So," I said slowly, folding my arms and frowning from Dante to Vergil. "You want me to help you guys take out demons, then eventually kill this Mundus guy?"

There was another pause.

"Yes," said Vergil finally. "It's rare to find someone of your skills willing to put them at the hand of killing demons rather than aiding them."

I stiffened at the thought of ever helping a demon; they killed my parents, took away my life, and left Noah and I to myself, never to have a normal life or childhood. Of course I wanted to kill them.

"Count me in," I said firmly. They all looked at me. "I'll help you bring down these demon pieces of shit, then destroy the fucking 'demon king'. Like you said," I added to Dante. "I'm already involved. So even if I said no, they'd come after me. Might as well join the team."

Dante smirked, unfolding his arms. "Glad to hear it, midget."

I shot him a playful glare. "Glad to be apart of it, sasquatch."

Vergil smiled at me, placing a hand on my shoulder.

"Happy to have you on the team, Ravyn."


	4. Temptations

**4**

**Temptations**

The club was strictly for VIP members only, but being Dante, he already knew a secret way in through the roof. Inside it was dimly lit with flashing lights and several hundred people inhabited the dance floor. A band called Combichrist was playing. They had a very heavy, techno/rock beat that was dark and dirty.

Coincidentally, the theme was angels and demons. Exotic dancers on the stage, wearing nothing but what looked like bra and underwear, had either white angel wings or black devil ones.

I was already highly amused.

"Classy," I snorted as we stood on the balcony that overlooked the dancers. "You brought me to a strip club."

"Only the best for you," he said lightly, giving me his crooked smile. "C'mon. They don't ask for IDs once you're in."

He led me down the steps and through the dance floor. Dante seemed—almost smug about something, and didn't seem to be thinking much on the fact that I now knew he was a son of Sparda. In fact, he seemed intent upon ignoring it completely.

"You know, any old bar would have impressed me," I said as we sat down at the bar counter. I wasn't wearing exactly the right attire for a nightclub; faded blue short shorts, black boots, and my black hoodie. But then again, neither was Dante who seemed to wear his red and black trench coat, white undershirt, red pendant, and black trousers everywhere he went.

"If I'm paying for the drinks, I get to choose where we go," he said, giving me a sideways smirk.

"I was half joking. Maybe going out and partying isn't the best idea when we have demons high tailing our asses."

He arched an eyebrow. "So why did you spar with me in the first place?"

It was my turn to give him a discreet grin. "Maybe I wanted an excuse to jump you."

The corners of his lips seemed to twitch inevitably. "You don't need an excuse to do that, cat-eye."

"Good to know."

"What'll it be, honey?" inquired the bartender, who happened to be a young woman with locks of bleach blonde hair that cascaded down to her large breasts that were only covered up by a small leopard print bikini top.

I raised my eyebrows to Dante who merely winked at me before turning to the girl.

"A bottle of Rye whiskey, Kitty," he said smoothly. The girl gave him a flirtatious smile before bending down in a rather conspicuous manner and pulled out a large bottle that consisted of honey-colored liquid inside and two shot glasses.

"Here you go, Dante," she purred, pouring both the glasses to the very brim, not leaving his gaze. Dante paid up and the girl, not taking any notice to me, stalked off to attend more customers.

"Gotten to know the locals, I see," I noted, mirroring Dante in picking up my glass and meeting his eyes.

"Cheers," he said, smirking. We clinked our glasses together. The stuff didn't burn as much as the bottle of 51 from the previous night, but I never had a taste for alcohol.

"So, tell me. How does the son of Sparda end up living in New York in a crappy little house and going out and rescuing girls from Pathaway demons?" I questioned as Dante refilled our glasses. He downed his before answering, frowning slightly at the counter.

"I didn't know who's son I was until recently. Vergil told me the truth."

I blinked. "And—yet , you must have known you were different, seeing demons all the time."

"All my life I've had demons torment me. I've gone from foster home to foster home, orphanage to orphanage. Most of them run by demons themselves, and almost always ending in torture. Nothing has changed now except for that I now know _why _they've been hunting me my whole life."

I studied him leisurely. "And they've been hunting you because you're Nephilim, a hybrid of demon and angel, supposedly the only thing that can take down a demon king."

"Mundus," said Dante, nodding, refilling our glasses. "He only thinks that there's me; he doesn't know about Vergil yet."

I sat back in my stool, emptying my glass and grimacing slightly. Dante watched me carefully.

"And what about you? How does someone like yourself end up in the depths of New York city fighting demons?"

I laughed under my breath. It was a hollow, sort of humorless laugh.

"My story is no better," I muttered, looking down at my empty shot glass. I caught his eye again. He was still looking at me in a calculating way. I sighed and sat up straight. "My family was murdered by demons when I was ten and Noah, six. We don't know who did it, but they're most likely still after us. As for being in New York, it's a big city; we assumed a bigger place would be easier to hide in."

His eyebrows contracted slowly. "Why did someone go after your family?"

"Probably because my mother married a human. Hell, I don't know. I barely remember it; it was so long ago."

"And you don't know who did it?"

"For all I know, it could have been Mundus himself."

"And how did you escape?"

I met his eyes again, frowning slightly, my mouth parting. My eyes moved to the ground, still clutching the shot glass in my hand.

"I don't know," I said finally. Dante studied me.

"What do you mean?"

I looked back up at him, shaking my head. "I don't remember. My memory expands to when Noah and I were running on the street. The night our parents died we ran to our aunt and uncle's house in Vermont. But that night the house caught on fire and they were killed in it, almost taking us with them. After that, Noah and I stuck to ourselves. It's easier that way."

Dante seemed to be thinking hard.

"You've been protecting him this entire time," he said leisurely. "Since you were ten."

"We haven't had an attack for a long time. Not one like that anyways. But it always seemed to end in fire. I dimly recall our parent's house burning in the end, too."

"Still," he said, once again pouring our glasses to the brim again. My head was beginning to swim already. I mentally punished myself for skipping lunch today as I swallowed down the last drop of the harsh liquor.

"I think it's too much uncalled pain to live in the past," I said, tracing my finger over the circle brim of my glass, glancing at Dante. "Life is too short to wake up in the morning with regrets. If you get a chance, take it. If it changes your life, let it. Nobody said life would be easy, they just said it would be worth it."

Dante just sort of stared at me. "Where did _that _come from?"

I grinned. "Hell of I know. Maybe it's the whiskey talking. Speaking of which, more please?" I added, raising my glass. Dante's lips coiled upward in a sly grin as he refilled my glass again.

It wasn't too long before all previous thoughts of our depressed pasts were obscured in a downpour of whiskey. I didn't get drunk all that often, but when I did, it was a kind of temporary bliss.

"Oh, come on," I whined, trying to make Dante to refill my glass for the eleventh time. Like Dante said, being part demon my body was less penetrable to any alcohol poisoning. So I could drink a few bottles of hard alcohol without leaving a scratch on my liver, so to speak. Unfortunately, it wasn't the same for hangovers.

"No way, cat-eye," he said, holding the bottle out of my arm's reach. He was evidently much more sober than I was. He had just lit another cigarette and was holding that in his right hand, and the half bottle of whiskey in his left, holding it above his head. "You've had your fill. You're wasted."

"No way!" I protested. "I'm not drunk. My tolerance is—this high!" I jumped slightly in my seat and raised my hand in attempt to indicate my high tolerance, but in doing so I almost toppled over, yet Dante caught me before I could fall off my seat.

I smiled up at him sheepishly.

"Right," he smirked. "Not drunk my ass."

I let out a low breath and readjusted myself in my seat, leaning on the counter and smiling at Dante.

"How do I know you're not going to take advantage of this situation?" I asked.

Dante inhaled deeply into his cigarette, ice-blue eyes not leaving mine. He exhaled, his penetrating gaze studying me through the thick cloud of smoke. His stare fixated up and down on my body before locking his eyes back onto mine again. Finally, he smirked again.

"You don't."

I eyed him leisurely, fighting an inevitable grin.

"I had a feeling you would say that."

I received nothing in answer but a wicked smile from him. I glanced towards the dance floor, a small smile curling along my lips. I stood up, unzipped my hoodie and tied it around my waist, revealing a tight black tank top. I looked back at Dante.

"Let's dance."

He registered me with an unchanging expression, still with the same sly smirk. He exhaled another breath of smoke from his cigarette then flicked it onto the counter. He picked up the whiskey bottle and took a large swig out of it then stood up.

I took the lead, taking Dante's hand softly in mine and leading him to the many dancers that circulated the angel/demon cosplay strippers on the small round stages. The song was a heavy, dark rock called 'Get Your Body Beat' by Combichrist.

I wasn't exactly sure what game I was playing with Dante. But then again, I was probably too drunk to recognize any gameplay whatsoever.

We obscured ourselves within the dancing crowd and under the violent flashing lights. I winked at Dante before turning my back to him, trailing my hand alongside his face and feeling his chest press against my back. He placed his hands on either side of my waist. We developed ourselves into the dark beat, my eyes closed and smiling to myself.

I could feel Dante's smirk on the back of my head, his head lowered enough so that his breath brushed the back of my neck.

The thing was, I knew Dante only for a few spare days, but his demeanor highly intrigued me. Maybe not his demeanor as much as just him. Flirting was in my nature and I liked to have a good time. I liked to see where my actions took me rather than plan them out; it wasn't as much fun.

The beat dropped and I turned slowly to face Dante, wrapping my arms around his neck and grinning mischievously up at him which he returned easily, hands still resting on my waist.

I was visited by the idea of kissing him, but that may have just been because I was head over heels drunk. And in any case, I would probably need a stool to reach his lips.

Dante noticed that something was pressing on my mind. He leaned forward close enough to my ear so I could hear him over the music.

"Stop undressing me with your eyes, cat-eye"

I grinned up at him. "I could say the same to you, sasquatch."

"It's hard. I've got a smokin' drunk girl that I'm grinding against," he chuckled. We locked our gazes together again. For a second, a single second, something clicked. And in the single second, the music stopped. But either because the second was so brief or I was really drunk, I didn't notice it.

My thoughts were interrupted by a buzzing in my pocket. I reached in and pulled out my phone. It was my alarm indicating twelve a.m. I set one to remind me to be home by then to never leave Noah alone. I sighed.

"I have to go," I said. Dante studied me carefully then nodded.

He led me out of the club and out into the chilly fall night air and to his car. I was starting to not feel so good. My bowed my head and glanced out of the window. The club wasn't far from my apartment, but feeling slightly nauseous, it seemed to take longer.

"You alright?" Dante inquired. I had to hand it to him, he was a pretty steady driver to being slightly drunk.

"Yeah, but I blame you for giving me that tenth shot."

"You looked about ready to wrestle me for the bottle," he said, giving me a sideways grin. "Anyway, tonight was—fun."

I looked at him just as we stopped right in front of my apartment building. I hesitated.

"Weird," I finally muttered. Dante frowned.

"What's weird?"

My eyebrows contracted slightly as I looked down at the floor, then met his eyes again.

"That we happened to meet a few days ago because a demon was about to tear my head off, and then we happen to both be associated in the demon world and come up with this new—agreement."

He seemed highly taken aback.

"World works strangely," he said finally, one hand on the wheel, glancing out of the window and then back at me.

"Agreed."

Dante paused. "Want me to walk you to your door?"

I gave him a small smile. "You're really going to be a gentlemen about this? I mean, here I am, drunk as a skunk, willing to do—a lot," I added, receiving a chuckle under his breath from him. "And you're just going to walk me to my door?"

His lips arched upward. "I can be a gentlemen when I want to be."

"That's good to know."

There was another pause. Dante seemed to be thinking hard about something. I took a deep breath and smiled at him.

"Well do the gentlemanly thing then," I said lightly. He smiled back.

He and I got out of the car and he walked me up the steps and to my apartment door.

"Well, thanks for this," I said. "I kind of needed a break."

"No prob."

I bit down on a small smile. We looked into each other's eyes. The stare was significant, considering that the only light was the dim porch light above. I studied his face carefully, the tousled dark hair, prominent chin, the burning that resided behind his piercing blue eyes.

At the moment, I wanted Dante. And I knew that the need in his eyes was no illusion to myself.

Dante glanced from my lips to my eyes, his expression calculating. I smiled slightly. He moved towards me, enough so that I pressed myself against the brick wall behind me. My face was flushed, but not out of embarrassment; I was still pretty drunk.

He rested his arm on the wall next to me so he sort of hovered over me, our eyes not vacating each other. He placed a hand on the side of my face, holding it gently as his eyes inspected my eyes to deeper levels. My lips were parted slightly, heart beating only slightly faster than usual.

With leisure movements, I moved my hand to gently hold the back of his neck and pulled him in closer. Dante's other hand edged from my waist, up my back and behind my head, running his fingers through my hair.

He moved closer, only a few inches apart. I could feel his breath against my lips and—

"Ravyn?"

The door opened, causing Dante and I jump apart. Well, Dante jumped. I backed up into the brick wall, causing myself a severe head ache. Noah stood in the doorway in his red boxers, looking blatantly confused, eyes moving from Dante to myself.

"Right, well, goodnight, Ravyn," said Dante loosely. He was smiling in a way that suggested he was half amused, half seething.

I gave him a hopeless little wave as he walked back to his car, glancing at me one more time before getting in and driving off. Slowly, I turned to Noah.

He got the gist that he lost some serious points. He cowered beneath my stare.

"Don't blame me! I heard voices out here but you didn't come in."

"Do you even know how dates work?" I scoffed. "Of course we weren't going to walk in right away."

He raised his eyebrows. "You were on a date with him?"

I ran my fingers through my hair, then sighed. "No. We weren't."

Noah opened his mouth, but suddenly there was a loud _CRASH _from our right. We both turned swiftly. I automatically jumped in front of Noah, peering into darkness and on high alert.

"What the . . . ?" I muttered, squinting my eyes, searching for a demon. But there wasn't one. Instead, a black cat jumped up on a gray trashcan from nearby. It was looking at Noah and I intensely. I felt Noah relax.

"Just a cat," he sighed. But I was frowning. My gaze was fixated on its eyes. They consisted of one blue, one green. I didn't think much of it. It wasn't rare for cats to have a multi eye color. I guess that was part of the reason Dante called me 'cat-eye'.

What more disturbed me was the way it looked at us. Its eyes focused on us as if it knew what we were saying, like it had a hidden intelligence. It unnerved me.

"C'mon," I muttered to Noah, resting a hand on his shoulder, not taking my eyes off the cat. Noah walked back into the apartment, where I followed closely behind, shutting the door behind us.


	5. Battle Plans

**5**

**Battle Plans**

**Dante POV**

Dante exhaled, feeling the thick cloud of smoke travel up his throat and release out of his mouth. He brought the cigarette once more to his lips and inhaled again, closing his eyes and arching his neck so the back of his head rested up on the side of his house and he face the azure night sky.

He opened his eyes and breathed out, watching the smoke temporarily obscure his vision of the starlit sky. Without taking his eyes off the sky he raised the bottle of cheap vodka to his lips and drank deeply, then lowered it.

He sighed, running his fingers through his hair. His pocket began buzzing. He reach into it and pulled out his cell phone. Ravyn.

'**Sorry.'**

Dante frowned down at the text. His head was still swimming. He hadn't remembered being this drunk in a long time. He actually needed to lean against the outside of his home to not topple over.

He took another swig of the almost gone vodka, the taste almost completely obscured in his drunken state.

**'No prob', **he typed back, hoping to fool her into believe that he hadn't gone home just to get more drunk. He released a deep breath, stuffing his phone back in his pocket. He stood up straight, swaying on the spot.

He glanced to his right where the ocean was clearly visible, the many stars reflecting in its unsteady waves.

"You're really getting sad, brother," came a voice from the doorway the house. Dante turned to see Vergil. He addressed him with a scowl.

"Fuck you," Dante muttered, inhaling his cigarette again. Vergil leaned against the frame of the door, his expression calculating.

"You've certainly taken to her in just a few days, haven't you?"

"I said fuck you," Dante said.

"And I said you're getting sad. Why are you doing this to yourself?"

"Doing what?" Dante demanded harshly. "This doesn't do shit to me." To prove it, he took a deep and long chug out of the bottle, wiping his mouth when finished.

"You don't even know who she is."

"I barely know who _you _are," Dante said lowly.

"I'm your brother," said Vergil said simply.

"And I've only known that for a few weeks!" said Dante with a hollow laugh. "And yet I trusted you; you gave me no choice. You're the one that wanted me to get her to join up in the first place!"

"We couldn't let someone like her walk away when at the moment she's exactly what we need. You're talking about something completely different. I wouldn't open yourself up to someone you barely know. Not in that way, anyway."

Dante pointed a dangerous finger at his twin. "That's it. You just want to use her as a pawn. You don't fucking care what happens to her just as long as she helps you out in the end!"

"On the contrary, I care very much. Do you know what kind of demon her mother was?"

Dante narrowed his eyes. "And _you _do?"

"She was a Mou demon. Mou, meaning 'cat' in ancient Egyptian. Most animal demons have been extinct for a long period of time."

Dante stared at him. "So, what are you saying? That she's a cat named Ravyn?"

"The reason Mou and other animal demons are extinct is because they conceived incredible power—but they were liberal. They refused to join Mundus when he called for them, and the result was slaughter. Somehow, Ravyn's ancestors were able to survive and able to live in secret, expanding their blood centuries after. Ravyn, of course would have no idea. "

Dante paused.

"And . . . if Mundus were to find out that a Mou demon was still alive?"

"Immediate death."

Dante released his breath. "I had a feeling you would say that." He thought as hard as he could in his drunken condition. "Hang on. What if he _did _find out? I mean before. I mean . . . Ravyn's parents."

Oh _fuck._

"Like I said, Ravyn would be a valuable asset to the team. But I don't suggest telling her about her mother and father; she's safest not knowing anything about this, or that her mother was Mou."

Dante's eyebrows contracted as he watched his brother walk back into the house. Dante felt a rush anger and irritation. He clenched the vodka bottle tightly in his fingers and threw it up against the side of the house, watching the shimmering glass pieces fly in all directions, catching the light of the moon as they spread on the ground below.

.

**Ravyn POV**

"You should have kept your stinkin' claws to yourself," I said irritably, plopping down another pile of dirt over the scabby body of the demon. What sucks about being a demon hunter, was that you couldn't just leave demon bodies laying all throughout the city, so you had to clean up afterward.

I was just finishing burying up a recently killed demon that attacked me on my nightly routine through the city. I was on the edge of Malone Cemetery, which was the most deserted one I could find.

I shoved the shovel into the dirt, wiping my hands and sighing.

It had been a week since Dante had taken me out to the club, and I still felt terrible for that shabby goodbye interrupted by Noah. Working for The Order so far was what I was expecting.

And yet, we had a plan. A new and exciting plan. On Saturday, two days from now, we planned to break into the Virility soda factory. Apparently Mundus owned it and the secret ingredient was—Succubus juice. I wasn't specifically sure what that meant, I just knew that it was disgusting.

The soda was used to control the humans who ingested it, thus making Mundus more powerful, and we had to make him at his weakest before striking.

We had spent most of the week planning the break in and what to do if anything went wrong.

And unfortunately, so far Dante and I had not had the chance to finish our goodbye from one week ago. In fact, we haven't had much time for anything; planning to break into the factory was extremely time consuming. Vergil had us patrolling every night, now assigning us each a certain part of the city.

And either out of truth or my imagination, he seemed slightly determined to give Dante and I the most farthest apart areas. I couldn't think why, though.

I liked Vergil, but he seemed to be the polar opposite of his twin. Dante, though cocky and slightly arrogant, was at least sincere and seemed to genuinely care for the good of the people. Vergil was the more level-headed one, but seemed more determined to kill demons for the sake of killing them.

I leaned against the shovel, gazing down at the city of New York from the small hill that I stood on. I checked my watch. Only ten. Luckily, I had a way to kill the time; I had to work at the Snake's Eye until two tonight.

At the moment, Noah was at home with his girlfriend, Summer. I didn't have a problem leaving them alone together, and even leaved them unaccompanied on purpose to give them alone time. I knew Noah wasn't stupid. Not stupid in the sense to know enough at least to use protection.

However, having your older sister tell you about the birds and the bees was not a pleasant experience for either of us. I don't know how parents did it.

I picked up the shovel and started walking to the small shed that I had found it in, but was stopped by a noise. It was not a noise that a normal human could hear. It was simply a presence; I could hear it, I could sense it. I knew something was behind me.

I clenched the end of the shovel instinctively then acted quickly. I whirled around, prepared to run the end of the shovel through whatever was following me. But, the point of my weapon was pointed at no demon, not even a human.

A pair of neon eyes were staring at me in the shadows, one green, one blue. I stared at it.

The cat fixed its unblinking wide gaze on my eyes, its tail swaying slowly, not even jumping at my sudden movement. I lowered my shovel.

"You again?" I said. "Why are you following me?"

The cat merely continued to look at me.

"Go away," I said, swatting the shovel softly in its general direction. It didn't move. I frowned, then slowly turned back to the shed. I opened the door and place the shovel back inside the small, shadowed room and left.

When I looked back, the cat was gone. I was starting to feel slightly wigged out. I turned, but nearly jumped. The cat was facing me almost exactly eye-to eye, sitting atop a stone angel statue. The angel was holding an open stone book, which was where the cat sat, still giving me its creepy stare.

I eyed it warily.

"Shoo," I said. It remained immobile. I narrowed my eyes, then walked past the statue, leaving the graveyard behind me. When I glanced over my shoulder at the end of the hill, the cat was nowhere to be found. Feeling relieved, I picked up my pace and ran into the depths of the city again.

I made my way to the Snake's Eye, hauling down a cab to make the trip faster.

The bar was located by the pier of New York. It had a friendly atmosphere and was usually pretty busy, mostly due to the short ruffled skirts that consisted of the female work outfits. I got inside, said hello to my co-workers, then went to the back room where the staff closets were.

I pulled out the dress and changed in the dressing room. The dress was supposed to be 'barmaid' style. The torso was maroon with a slight corset style and the skirt was black with ruffles and ended above my knees.

I would have blatantly refused to wear the outfit if the job didn't pay so well. It was one of the main reasons I was able to pay the bills every month. I examined myself in the dressing room mirror, slipping on my black boots and leaving my waves of hair to cascade to my ribs.

I looked more like a stripper. Maybe I should have been working at that club Dante brought me to instead of here.

Smiling at the thought of Dante's expression if he ever discovered that I became an erotic dancer, I put my other change of clothes into my closet and set off to work. Working at the Snake's Eye can be a real blow to the stomach, to say the least.

All the time I was forced to fake a smile to a pig headed drunk in order to keep my job, because the happier the customers, the higher my pay. I put up with much humiliation in here, because my boss didn't seem to care that the men of the bar were more focused on grabbing the girl's asses then drinking their beers.

"You have area 5 tonight," my fellow barmaid, Nancy said. I got to work.

Every hour or so I made sure to check my phone in case Noah was trying to contact me. Ever since joining The Order, I've become even more paranoid than usual. But no word from him.

When I emerged from the back room, I received a small surprise. Dante and Vergil were standing in the entrance looking slightly—out of place. It had only just occurred to me that I had never actually seen either of them in a public area. And now that I have, I only just now realize their impending difference from other people.

Their aura was so—out of the ordinary. Prominent and intimidating. They conspicuously stood out, even just with the way they held their stance. Half pleased, half confused, I walked over.

"What are you two doing here?" I inquired, chuckling under my breath. Dante smiled at me.

"Well, you mentioned you worked here and we had some time to kill; thought we might see what all the fuss is about. And—the fuss is well earned," he added, looking at my outfit up and down. I gave him a small smile.

"And also Dante is an alcoholic," put in Vergil.

"And Vergil has something he wants to tell us," said Dante with a glance at his brother.

"Well, table three is available," I said, fighting a smile. "Follow me." I led them through the bar, ignoring a few drunken yells from the other male customers. "Here you go."

Dante winked at me before sliding into the the booth. I handed them each a menu.

"Anything I can get you to drink?" I inquired.

"Whiskey," said Dante.

"Water," said Vergil. "We cant stay long." I raised my eyebrows but didn't comment.

I returned shortly with their drinks.

"So what's the update, boss?" I asked of Vergil. He took a brief sip of his water before turning to me.

"Everything is ready. All the planning is done. We can go to the factory sooner than we planned, tomorrow, if you're ready."

I stared at him. "For real?"

He sat back in his seat. "Yes."

"I'm ready," I said at once. They looked at me in slight surprise, but Vergil didn't comment.

"You're confident," said Dante. I gave him a sly smile.

"Very."

He grinned back.

"Then let's go get ourselves a Succubus."

"What time?" I asked Vergil.

"Tomorrow at eight. Bright and early. Get some rest. You need to be at top strength."

I nodded. "Check."

"Hey, Ravyn! Table five is waiting on you!" called Nancy from the bar. I sighed and turned back to Dante and Vergil.

"I have to go. But tomorrow—bright and early. Got it."

"See you, cat-eye," called Dante as I set off.

I took the order of table five, more busy thinking on tomorrow's events. I left the table, hoping to catch another word with Dante before he left, but when I walked back, he was already gone.

I received a large jolt in the stomach when I approached their empty table to retrieve their bill. There, sitting on the table, was a hundred dollar bill. Also, under it, a note. Leisurely, I picked it up in my right hand while picking up the hundred dollars in my left. I began to read.

_'Sorry for the short visit, I'll make it up to you. Here's a little token to show how much I thought you were cute tonight. Let me redeem myself for the crappy night we had last weekend. I want to take you somewhere—someplace nicer. Don't argue._

_-Dante xo_

_P.S: I approve of the outfit.'_


	6. Secrets

**6**

**Secrets**

"Do you understand what needs to be done?" questioned Vergil. Dante, Kat and I all nodded.

"Get to the heart of the factory, find the Succubus demon, and kill her," said Dante.

"Kat knows the way, so she will lead you both. Ravyn, Dante—you must destroy the Succubus while in Limbo," continued Vergil.

I clutched the handle of my _katana _firmly.

"Got it," I said.

Vergil turned to me. "It will be dangerous."

I smiled at him. "That's the best part."

He returned the smile.

"Let's get this over with," said Dante.

The factory had regular tour visits so Kat, Dante, and myself would not look out of place. We just had to sneak into the back and—well, catch ourselves a Succubus.

We walked inside the astronomical building twenty minutes later. There were many people, most of the crowd's interest on the second floor.

As we stepped on the escalator, a disembodied cheery female voice ran through the building.

"_Virility is number one on America's most popular soda's, both for it's satisfying flavor, and that it's been proven to help reduce twenty-one percent of body fat."_

"Who believes this crap?" muttered Dante, leaning on the railing of the escalator and looking up at Kat and I. I was glancing around at all of the people who were here, all talking animatedly, having no idea what they were drinking.

"When you've been told something enough times, people tend to believe it eventually," said Kat without looking at us. She seemed sad.

I had only learned Kat's story the previous week. She had no parents, moving from foster home to foster home, and her last father was a demon who was both physically and mentally abusive. She ran and eventually came across Vergil, who brought her in. It explained her fierce loyalty to him and The Order.

It seemed that none of us had had an easy life.

"How did your childhood go when you kept on claiming to see demons?" I inquired her leisurely. "People must have been scared of a little girl saying those kinds of things."

"It was one of the reasons why I had so many foster homes. No one wanted a child who said she could travel to the demon world and see things others couldn't. It even led to mental institutions sometimes . . ."

"People are scared of what they can't see or understand," said Dante darkly. "I went through the same thing. Sometimes I'd consider that I too was insane. I never knew my parents to tell me that things I was seeing were demons, and didn't understand why others couldn't see them too. I guess I just realized in myself that I wasn't crazy."

I looked at him. He was frowning into the distance, eyes cold and barricaded.

I myself, had never experienced the same pain as these two. I had known my parents, I had had ten years of love and acceptance. I grew up realizing the world of both human and demon, knowing what I was from the beginning.

This was something neither Dante nor Kat could say. That made a strange feeling of guilt twinge inside me.

We reached the second floor. In the center of the room was an enormous tank that consisted of light green, almost clear liquid with carbon bubbles rising high in it. There was a tap connected to it where people were getting free samples.

We moved on, sneaking easily past security and into the back room. In here, the atmosphere was much less cheery. It was dark with pipes running along the ceiling and wall with a strange greenish glow.

"So—how do you know where to go?" I questioned of Kat as we picked up our pace and ran down some iron steps.

"When I was young, I had an out of body experience."

"Like, let your soul do the walking?"

"Yes. I remember it perfectly though. I got sucked out of my body due to austere emotional trauma, and then came here. That's when I saw the Succubus. This way," she added as we came across a foreboding-looking corridor.

"Any tips on taking the bitch down?" asked Dante.

Kat hesitated. "No. That's something that I can't help you with. You two are going to have to figure that out; there's nothing I can do once you two are in Limbo."

Dante and I exchanged a glance.

Soon, we came into a room. It resembled the size of a Home Depot building, with shelves as high as the tall ceiling, stacked with carts and boxes of all sizes and shapes. We all paused, taking in the scene.

"Strange. I remember it being bigger," murmured Kat. "But—I did see it a long time ago. Hmm. This should be fine. You two will have to enter Limbo here. Remember, I can only lead the way. Once you get to the Succubus, you two are on your own."

Dante and I both nodded. From her belt, Kat pulled out her spray can and tracing paper, marked in ancient symbols that created a large circle. She placed the paper on the ground and sprayed over it carefully.

Dante and I stepped on it together and I braced myself for the world of demons. The symbol glowed a bright white light that enclosed over us. The room began to shift, a reddish, dangerous angry light now encircling us.

The room now looked like some fucked up obstacle course, the floor spread like floating surfaces. Kat now consisted of a black and white figure, looking more like a blurry watercolor.

"And here we go again," I sighed. Dante gave me a small grin before drawing his weapon. I mirrored him, gripping my _katana _fiercely between my fingers.

"I'll meet up with you two," said Kat. We saw her blurry figure fade away up ahead. Dante and I glanced at each other before pressing forward, having to jump from surface to surface, but there was no sign of demons yet.

We didn't speak to each other for a while, both more on the alert for demons rather than focusing on a conversation topic. But it had been slightly more awkward since the night we almost kissed and Noah interrupted us. But neither of us were the type to let a little thing like that get in the way of our mission; it was too important.

We encountered a horde of Pathos demons, but they were easy to take out. A little—too easy. But I didn't say anything on it. When we finally got to solid ground, Dante spoke to me.

"Look, that note that I left you," he started. "I'm serious about taking you somewhere else."

I turned to him, completely taken off guard.

"What?"

He turned to me, a small smirk on his face.

"Well, don't you think it would be a good idea?"

In spite of myself, I laughed.

"You're amazing, Dante," I giggled. He blinked.

"How?"

I turned to him, my lips stretching in a large smile, knowing I must look like an idiot.

"Here we are, about to face a killer Succubus in the middle of Limbo while in a soda factory, and you're here planning a second date. I love how mellow you are."

He looked a little taken aback. He opened his mouth, then stopped, apparently thinking about what I just said.

"Did you say, _second _date?" he inquired.

I gave him a sideways smile. "You noticed that, huh?"

Dante opened his mouth to say something, but his next few words were drowned from Kat shouting at us from up above.

"C'mon, you two! She's just up here!"

We looked at each other before hurrying forward. My pulse began to quicken slightly, mingled feelings of rushed relief and foreboding circulated within me.

Kat led us on, taking us to the areas that were most deprived of demons. There was no denying that concern was not vacant with me. I had to make it out of here, I _had _to. Not because I feared death, but because of Noah. I couldn't afford to die.

Not again.

.

The stench was foul. Dante and I made our way across the stone floor, passing the tall columns and staring up at the crevice. There was a greenish light emitting from it, inevitably reminding me of the soda from the enormous tank.

Kat was left behind, waiting for a sign that Dante and myself had done what we set out to do.

We paused just before continuing forward.

"Let's do this," said Dante. I nodded.

We glanced at each other before stepping forward and through the narrow opening. The sight we met, was a memory that would haunt my nightmares forever.

A large, wriggling creature, not that different from a grotesque slug, was hanging like a cocoon from the tall ceiling. It was the size of a large plane, but bigger several times in width. It wriggled and squirmed, emitting putrid smelling acid from various holes on it.

Dante and I ran forward, drawing our weapons once more as we set our eyes on the terrifying monstrosity before us. The thing uncurled itself and I saw that it had a head along with four long, claw-like arms. It hovered over what looked like a lake of green slime within falling ruins.

"_WHOO THE FUCK ARE YOOOU?" _the thing screamed, in a voice that was enough to burst ear drums. It was high pitched and seething, terrifyingly inhuman.

"Your fucking prom date!" shouted Dante.

"_DAAAAAANNTEEEEEE?!" _the Succubus bellowed, its voice reverberating all around, making the already shabby stone walls tremble. The demon swerved downward, its torso resting on the stone ground, but the rest of its body still clinging to the ceiling above.

"Son of Sparda!" said Dante. I stared up at the abomination before us, too revolted for words. At the very sight of it, a strange anger rose up inside me. An anger that I didn't understand. I held my sword tighter.

"_SON OF SPARDA AND EVA, YOUR TRAITOR FATHER AND WHORE MOTHER!" _it spat, its disgusting body trembling with anger.

Dante only got cockier.

"Too bad you're not even able to _call _yourself a whore, sweetie!" taunted Dante. My eyes narrowed dangerously, my heart starting to beat faster. I wanted to kill this thing. So slowly, so painfully. I wanted to set its fucking ugly existence in the boiling green slime beneath it. It wasn't like me. I may have hated demons to the core, but I would never want to sink to their level.

What was it about this one that made me act like this? The thing now addressed me.

"_YOU BROUGHT YOUR FUCKING WHORE WITH YOU TO TRY AND FINISH ME OFF?" _She laughed. But it resembled no laugh I had ever heard. A sound that brought images of bloody chainsaws scraping across a rough surface. _"YOU BROUGHT ME DAUGHTER OF ALCINA? THE HARLOT THAT RAN OFF WITH A USELESS HUMAN?!"_

My breath seemed to be caught in my throat, but I forced out words.

"And, how does your majesty know who I am?" I yelled, trying to force my voice into a cocky tone so that I wouldn't sound threatened.

The Succubus laughed her horrible laugh, leaving me to literally feel my blood curdle. My hand began twitching violently as if fiercely desperate to hurt this being, to feel enjoyment of making it suffer.

"_I AM OVER TWELVE-THOUSAND-YEARS OLD!" _she howled. _"I KNOW EVERTHING. I KNOW YOUR PAST. I KNOW THE SECRETS YOU HAVE TRIED TO HARD TO HIDE—EVEN FROM YOUR PETTY BROTHER . . ."_

My heart seemed to fail.

Eyes narrowing dangerously, I tried to suck back the anger, taking a deep breath.

"You don't know me," I growled, failing to keep the assertive mannerism.

The Succubus writhed with laughter, enjoying its affect on me. My head was reeling, pulse quickening, and chest heavy and a thirst to kill. It was writhing, terrible, burning anger and hatred.

"_I KNOW MORE ABOUT YOU THAN YOU DO, YOU FUCKING WHOOOOOORE!" _she screamed.

Evil. That's what it was. The Succubus wasn't evil in general; it was the thing itself. Its entire existence consisted of hate, anger, and immoral.

The Succubus moved in closer, its body expanding from the pull of its other half sticking to the ceiling, its claws gripped into the ground in order for it to stay in place.

"_YOU BELONG TO USSSSS . . ." _she hissed. "_YOU'LL ALWAYS BELONG TO US, SLUT! I'LL RIP YOUR SOUL OUT OF YOUR FUCKING WHORE BODY AND EAT YOUR GUTS OUT OF IT!"_

My entire body seemed to surge with fury, pulsating like a heartbeat. It was inevitable, irrevocable, and uncontrollable.

"Ravyn . . ." said Dante leisurely. He noticed my clenched fists, tightened jaw, and contracted eyebrows that were narrowed in a fit of purest loathing. I felt something grasp my arm. I looked to meet Dante's eyes. His stare was fixated on my eyes, determined, but also counseling.

His gaze seemed to release something in me; calm me. My body relaxed and breathing slowed.

"Why don't we quiet this bitch up?" said Dante, drawing his sword and smirking up at the Succubus. "Time to chop us up some demon scum."

I forced a playful grin on my face and turned to fact the Succubus. Dante raised his sword, nodded once to me, then we bolted in opposite directions, circulating the disgusting demon. It was like Dante and I could read each others minds with the way we worked in battle together.

I just had to hope that the Succubus would keep her ugly mouth shut.

The anger she stirred within scared me. Like the Succubus had a certain tool that she could use against me if needed be. I wondered if Dante was feeling the same way. But then again, the Succubus hadn't threatened _him _about revealing his darkest secrets.

From the other side of the cavern I could see Dante's careless smirk as he drew his two twin pistols and began firing them at the Succubus. This, of course, was doing no damage whatsoever, but that wasn't his intention. It was a distraction.

I raised my _katana_ and leaped forward into the air, anger working as my fuel. I felt the end of my blade sink into the Succubus' face with a satisfying '_splinching' _sound. She let out a howl and swiped at me. She raised her claws and swiped furiously. I dodged, doing a graceful back flip, closing my eyes until I landed back on my feet.

I had my presumptuous manner back. The corners of my lips curled upward in a smile. It was a smile that indicated my love for the kill and that was completely made of sadistic feelings for this demon. It was twisted malice that I had felt only once before in my life.

Then Dante attacked, hurling himself through the air and puncturing the demon's skin with his sword. He landed next to me just as she screamed once more and clawed randomly through the air.

"Are you okay?" questioned Dante, glancing down at my shaking arm, twitching oddly as if determined to get my hand on something. I placed my hand on it, breathing deeply.

"I'm fine," I muttered.

"_THAT'S RIGHT, YOU LITTLE CUNT!" _screamed the Succubus, making another slash at us. "_FIGHT LIKE YOUR WHORE MOTHER DID. SEE HOW MUCH GOOD IT DID FOR HER IN THE END!"_

Silent fury. It was the kind that sent my nerves to above and beyond. The quietest, yet the worst. Yet, holding back my anger was almost painful to me than the Succubus' words.

"Don't let her get to you," said Dante steadily, interpreting my silence correctly. I half glanced at him, then looked back at the Succubus. "Look at the cord connecting it to the ceiling; if we somehow cut her loose, she'll boil in that green slime beneath her."

It was a good plan, but—something in me wanted more out of it. We moved swiftly again, dodging one of her swipes.

"_YOUR FUCKING WORTHLESS HUMAN FATHER DIDN'T HOLD THE PROPER GENES FOR YOU TO BE WORTH SHIT. YOUR CYPRIAN MOTHER RAN OUT WITH THAT PIECE OF WORTHLESS CRAP AND PRODUCED YOU; A SACK OF HALFBREED SCUM."_

That did something.

"Okay, bitch," I whispered, bringing my sword to hold in front of me with two hands, my head bowing and eyes narrowing. "I'll make you pay."

Dante made a movement as if to stop me, but I was already moving. I hurled myself through the air, over the green cavern, slashing my _katana _across the body of the Succubus while doing so. I cut hard and I cut deep. She screamed an inhumane scream, flaying her arms, causing debris to fly everywhere. I dodged rocks and her flying arms.

I landed on the other side of the ruins, my sword dripping with her green blood.

"What are you doing just standing there?" I shouted over to Dante. Even from here, I could see his hardened expression, but he whipped out his two guns and started firing them at the Succubus. But her attention was focused on me.

Good.

"Come at me then, you fucking sack of slimy shit!" I taunted. She roared in anger, lurching her torso forward. I just nearly dodged her arms, raising my sword above my head and digging the blade deep into her right eye. I then dragged it upward, cutting it up into her forehead then drawing back.

She screamed and screamed, clawing at her forehead. But I wasn't done; I wanted to make her suffer. I was blinded by hate and a lust for her blood.

But then suddenly I was drifting. It was a sensation of falling down a dark hole. In my fierce attempts to hurt the Succubus, she had somehow managed to get a hold of my leg and was now hurling me through the air.

"Ravyn!"

Someone collided into my side, forcing me out of harm's way and placing their arms protectively around me. We landed hard on a stone surface. There was a painful grunt. I was temporarily frozen, not sure what just happened.

What I registered first was that Dante was hovering over me, clutching his side. My eyes widened at the sight. A piece of spare stone debris had been stabbed deeply in his stomach area, a nasty bloodstain appearing under his white undershirt.

"Dante . . ." I whispered. From behind him, I could see the Succubus about to make another claw towards us. "_No!" _

I hurled myself forward, holding him tightly by the shoulders and wrenching him out of the way. We just barely missed death. Dante was breathing heavily, grunting in supreme pain. God, it looked terrible.

Slowly, I turned to face the Succubus,

"You, _bitch!" _I yelled. I drew my sword in front of me with both arms, glaring supreme hatred at the demon before me.

When she spoke, her words were raspy, and yet more terrible than before.

"_You're . . . all . . . going to . . . diiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiieee . . ." _were her last words.

I leaped upward. My blade cut through the stem that held her to the ceiling. She crashed down with one last wail into the boiling green slime below, being completely obscured, the echo of her last scream ringing in my ears.

I landed back on my feet beside Dante, staring down into the pit below me with seething hatred. I turned to face Dante, dropping my sword and running to be by his side, kneeling by him and placing a hand under his head to help him sit upright.

"Dante," I breathed. "Dante, are you alright?"

He grunted in pain, fingers trailing to the wound.

"I'm feeling—just dandy," he said. I laughed nervously, glad at least he still had some humor.

"Hang on," I said. I lifted the brim of his shirt just above his wound.

Jesus.

The stone was at least eight-inches in his skin. My eyes widened even further.

"Looks fine," I lied.

He gave me a small smile.

"You're a terrible liar."

I narrowed my eyes, glancing behind me at the boiling pit and then back.

"This is going to hurt."

He only had a second to register what I just said.

"Wha—"

I gripped the edge of the stone tightly and then wrenched it out with all the force I could muster. Dante let out a loud yell that was filled to the brim with pain. A cold sweat appeared on his forehead and he was breathing deeply, face twisted in agony.

My chest heaved, mind whirring as I glanced down at the stone that was stained with Dante's blood. I dropped it to the ground. I ripped off my right sleeve and wrapped it around Dante's wound.

"Can you walk?"

He made a movement as if to test, then sat further upright, breathing heavily.

"God—fucking—dammit," he breathed, bending forward and grasping at his wound.

"Here; lean on me."

He shifted himself up to his feet and wrapped his right arm around my shoulder, wincing in pain. I picked up my _katana _and placed it back in its case.

"That's the second time you've saved me," I said as we made our way to the exit.

"Don't mention it," Dante uttered as we passed the stone pillars. He glanced at me. "What just happened? You got—a little crazy out there."

I gave no answer; I had none. Well, none that I was willing to tell. Dante understood, but to my intense relief, he didn't persist.

Kat was waiting up in he large room where we had gone into the Limbo with a symbol waiting for us. When out of Limbo, Kat noticed that something was immediately wrong.

"We have to get him some help," she said anxiously, leading us out of the building. "Is the Succubus dead?"

"Yeah," I breathed, grimacing slightly under Dante's weight. We both looked like a wreck, covered in dirt and bloodstains. It was easy to sneak out of the factory without being noticed because a commotion had started due to some 'technical difficulties' with the secret ingredient.

"No hospitals," Dante grunted as I helped him into the car. I sat in the back with Dante making sure he was alright while Kat drove."Mundus is bound to have spies everywhere. I can't afford being taken into Limbo right now."

"I can take you to my house," I said as Kat drove out of the parking lot. "Since you've got the whole 'demon healing' ordeal, you should only need a few bandages."

Dante didn't answer, but I wasn't completely sure he had heard me; he was still clutching his side painfully, face contorted in pain. I placed my hand just above the wound, not enough to cause pain but just in gesture of sympathy.

"Kat, can you drop us off and then go report to Vergil? I'll help Dante," I said dismissively. Kat met my eyes in the rear-view mirror then slowly nodded.

I placed my hand behind Dante's head so as to make it easier to elevate his posture. I noticed I was absentmindedly brushing his hair out of his eyes, and holding the side of his face. He gave me a weak smile.

"So, I'm really not going to like the pain you're about to put me through, am I?" he said as we stopped in front of my apartment. I returned the smile meekly.

"Not unless you're a masochist."

He gave a small shrug. "I'm open minded."

"Thanks, Kat," I said to her as I helped Dante out of the car. She gave Dante an extremely worried look before nodding.

"Take care of him, Ravyn."

"I will."

She drove off and I led Dante up the steps.

"Noah's still at school," I said as I shut the door behind us. "So, we won't be interrupted."

He chuckled under his breath. "I wish it was for a different occasion."

I gave him a small smile. "C'mon. The first aid kit is in the bathroom."

Dante placed an arm around my shoulders again as I led him into the bathroom. He waited with surprising patience as I dug in the cupboard under the sink and pulled out the white first aid kit and place it on the bathroom sink.

"Okay, we should clean the wound before bandaging it up," I said with unease. Dante sighed then nodded. I glanced from him to his wound. "You'll have to take off your shirt."

He glanced from me to his wound, gave me a small grin, then slipped off his jacket and plopped it onto the ground. He pulled his shirt over his head and threw that too. My eyes inevitably moved from the wound to his muscle, then looking quickly back to the first aid pack.

"So, what are you going to ask for in reciprocation for saving my life so many times?" I inquired casually as I got out the bottle of peroxide and washcloth. He smiled slightly as I doused the cloth and moved towards him and began dabbing the wound gently.

"I'll think of something."

I glanced at him, smiled, then attended back to the wound.

"You're not going to tell me what you have in mind?"

He caught my eye, a small awry smile perched on his lips. "Where's the fun in that?"

I studied his eyes, hand with cloth suspended slightly in the air. A silence hung in the air as we looked at each other.

"Thank you," I said quietly. "For—um, saving me. Again."

He gave a small shrug. "No prob, cat-eye. Who could resist saving a pretty face like yours?"

"I'm so glad that's the only reason," I snickered under my breath, now taking out a bandage and some tape. I placed it over his wound and begun working on it.

"There's other reasons," he said softly. I looked at him, then back at the bandage.

"Such as?"

He smirked.

"Curiosity killed the cat, Rave," he said smoothly.

I had to bite down on a laugh.

"Right." There were a few more silent moments. "Okay, done."

He examined the bandage in the mirror's reflection then nodded.

"Thanks a bunch. I don't have to worry about dying at the moment. You have no idea how great of a relief that is."

"Believe me; I do."

He watched me leisurely. I met his eyes, accepting the gaze he set upon me, mouth parted slightly.

"What are you looking at?" I asked quietly.

"A girl that I can't understand," he said. It was almost as though he were talking to himself. I arched an eyebrow.

"How so?"

He hesitated, looking into my eyes. "It's like—I don't know. One time I look at you, and you're this really hot, spunky, witty girl who knows how to have fun. Then, the next time I look, you're going super Saiyan on the Succubus. It's like when you fight, you change. For better or for worse."

I wasn't sure what to say to that, so I looked down, biting down on my lower lip.

"Well, we all have our secrets," I said finally, glancing back at him. He frowned slightly, looking out of the open bathroom window, then back at me.

"Sure. If you want to put it that way. I've only known you for little more than a week, and yet somehow it seems longer."

Again, I didn't answer. Dante caught my face on either side with his hands and lifted my face up so we locked our gazes again. He was smiling in a half smirk, half sincere way.

"What's the matter? Cat got your tongue?"

I laughed under my breath.

"I swear to God, if you make one more pun, I'm going to hurl you out the window," I threatened.

"And there's the witty girl that I met," he said softly. My heart fluttered at his words; there was no other way to describe it. It was insanity that in just a short amount of time that Dante could mean a lot to me. It wasn't enough to call it that one forbidden word; hell, I don't even know what I would call it. But I felt safe with him. He was a security for me that I never felt before. He was someone I could lean on and take off my forevermore troubles for a temporarily amount of time.

And also I really wanted to kiss him at the moment.

I allowed a little smile to creep along my lips, showing him that I was granting him permission. Dante brushed one of my hairs out of my face, eyes fixating for a second on my lips before meeting my eyes again. I placed my hand on the side of his face and then creeping down to hold his neck as he leaned forward.

"_Meowrf!" _

A black, speeding, _something _darted from the window and landed right on top of Dante, sinking its claws into his bare skin. Dante shouted out loud, grasping for whatever it was.

"Wha—?!" I said in confusion. "Hang on! Stop—!"

Dante clenched the black furry thing and threw it at the ground. It was none other than the green and blue eyed cat. I stared down at it. It was spitting madly at Dante, back arched and fur on end. It jumped up on the window again and then jumped out.

"What the _fuck?!_" demanded Dante aggressively as I moved to the window and looked out of it, searching for the black cat, but it was gone. "Where did _that _thing come from?"

I had no immediate answer. I merely stared out of the window for a few more moments before turning back to Dante.

"I've been seeing that cat everywhere now, starting last week."

His eyebrows narrowed. "You've been being stalked by a cat?"

I opened my mouth, then closed it. I shook my head. "I have no idea."

I wasn't expecting these words to have great affect on Dante, but he looked—distraught.

"It could have been just me, but—did it have one green, one blue eye?"

"Yeah, why? It's not uncommon for cats."

"Yeah, sure," he said passively. "But what a coincidence it is that the one cat that chooses to stalk you consists of your same eye-color?"

I stared at him, eyebrows contracting. "What, you think I have a long lost relative following me around?" I said, half laughing. Dante didn't answer.

At that moment, we heard the front door open. I jumped slightly, completely forgetting about Noah.

"Right," I said anxiously, glancing at Dante's shirtlessness. "You: put on a shirt." I left the bathroom. Noah was standing in the kitchen, taking off his backpack and addressing me as I entered.

"Hey," he said uncertainly, looking me up and down. "Wow. You're—a wreck. What have you been doing today?"

"Oh, you know. Decapitating demons, protecting humans—"

"Throwing Succubusess into great big pits of boiling green goo," continued Dante, coming up from behind me, now wearing his undershirt, a small smirk on his lips. "Hey, Noah."

"Hey," he said, looking even more ambivalent. "Um—is there something I'm missing here? Succubus?"

"Don't worry about it," I said dismissively. Noah arched an eyebrow.

"O-kay. Look, I have a ton of homework. I'll be in the den." He grabbed a bag of potato chips from the kitchen before stalking off into the next room.

Dante and I looked at each other then looked away, both grinning. I glanced out of the apartment window only to see a pair of neon blue-green eyes staring at me from the other side, wide and unblinking. My stomach churned slightly before I looked away again.


	7. Surprises

**7**

**Surprises**

"Mommy, what's that noise?" I inquired of my mother. She looked hurriedly behind her shoulder, then swooped little Noah into her arms, taking my tiny hand in hers.

"Do you have your katana, sweetie?" she asked me.

The question confused me slightly.

"No, it's in my room."

"Where's daddy?" squeaked Noah, sucking on his little thumb and staring around his mother's shoulder down the hallway that consisted nothing more than a black sea of darkness.

"Get your sword, honey," my mother said hurriedly to me. There was another crash. "Hurry!"

I quickly complied, running past my mother's legs and into my bedroom. I bent down to the ground and lifted up the loose floorboard, revealing my katana. It was shining even in the dim light of my bedroom.

Now the sword was much too big for me, but my demonic blood enabled me to use it without too much struggle. I heaved the Japanese sword out of its hiding spot and stood up.

But something stopped me from turning to leave my bedroom; a figure in the open window. A small, animal-shaped figure.

A cat, black in color.

I lowered my sword, blinking in confusion as it studied me with its one blue, one green eye. Its tail swayed slightly and it struck me as a sort of impressive figure with the full moon shining in the azure sky behind it.

"Hello," I said uncertainly.

There was a sudden loud BANG, making me jump, but strangely, the cat remained immobile.

"Ravyn, hurry!" my mother called urgently.

I glanced towards the cat again, but it was gone. Leisurely, I ran into the hallway again.

"You know you need to protect Noah—no matter what happens?" my mother said as she rushed us down the hallway.

"Mommy, what's going on? I said, my voice growing slightly higher than usual. "Where's daddy? Who were those men?"

Mom didn't answer. In the dark my eyes could see her pale features, widened eyes, and tightened jaw.

"Where are we going?" said Noah, grasping his mother's shoulder and staring fearfully around into the darkness. "What are we—"

There was a loud thump as suddenly our mother hit the floor, dropping Noah beside me as she let out a scream, her long, black hair flying through the air like raven's feather in what seemed slow motion.

Noah and I both turned in horror to the thing that had grasped our mother and was slowly dragging her away from us. I opened my mouth and prepared my scream.

"MOMMY!"

.

My eyes shot open. For a moment, fear was still coursing through my veins. My eyes darted around frantically as I sat up straight in my bed, running my fingers through my loose hair. But then I came to my senses. I was in my apartment in New York and I was nineteen, not ten.

But my heart was still racing.

I looked up to see Noah leaning against my doorframe, arms crossed and looking down at the ground. He looked at me.

"Nightmare?" he inquired.

I breathed out of my nose.

"Yeah," I said, glancing out of the window.

"Me too," he said, walking forward and sitting on the end of my bed. "Every night at this time of year."

I looked at him, biting on my lower lip.

"Today was the day they died," he continued.

I looked down.

"I know."

"It feels strange. Like when I look back it seems like it was just a short time ago. But I really can't remember anything that happened that night. Just a fire." He sighed deeply. "I can't even say that I remember what their faces looked like."

I met his eyes again.

"We should do something."

He frowned slightly.

"Like what?" It was hard to ignore the coldness in his voice as he spoke.

"I'm not sure. Something."

Noah opened his mouth, and there was something flashing in his eyes, but then it faded.

"Yeah, I'd like that," he said finally. "It'd be a good way to tell them we still remember."

I gave him a small smile. He was too mature for his own good.

"Well, why don't we start out with some fatty pancakes with syrup that's 99% corn syrup?" I suggested, putting on an airy tone and throwing the blankets of myself. He gave me a weak as I hopped to my feet.

"You're the best," he said.

I shrugged. "I know."

He laughed.

"Speaking of being awesome," I said as we made our way into the kitchen. "That concert is next week. You excited?"

"You bet," he said as he pulled out the pancake batter from the cupboard as I took out the pan and oil. "I still can't believe you got them for free."

"I'm a magic worker," I giggled as Noah poured the batter into a metal bowl.

"You really are. I don't know what I would do without you, sis."

We looked at each other, meeting eyes immediately. He was so much taller than me even if I was four years his elder. He had come so far. We had come so far as brother and sister. I valued him more than anything. This amazing feeling of love kept me striving each day. My physical actions had kept him alive while his love kept me alive. If I didn't have Noah, I might have died or gave up a long time ago.

Significant thoughts were obviously going through his head too. But we just smiled at each other and went back to making pancakes.

The morning consisted of Noah and me throwing flour in each other's faces or chasing one another with the spatula. Soon we both sat in the living room watching early morning cartoons, the after affect of our horrid food fight plain on our faces and clothes as we ate our pancakes.

"So," said Noah after a while as we both sat down our empty plates on the coffee table in front of us. "You and Dante seem to be getting—close."

I blinked, looking awkwardly from the open window to Noah.

"Why do you say that?" I inquired innocently.

He snorted.

"Please. That 'sparring' you guys were doing out in the back alleyway was more like sex with clothes on."

"Noah!" I said abruptly, and yet a loud eruption of laughter escaped my lips before I could stop it. "I didn't teach you to talk like that!"

He laughed. "Cmon. Even as your little brother I can tell when you like a guy. Admit it."

"You—shut your mouth!" I said, still laughing as I leaped forward and grasped him in a headlock, giving him a noogie atop his head. "I'm still your older sister and a lot stronger."

"Right," he muttered, struggling under my grasp. I let him go with another giggle. Noah suddenly lunged forward and hit me so hard that he knocked me off the coach. We began wrestling on the floor, laughing and shouting at the same time.

After we became too tired, we lay on the living room floor, panting hard and staring up at the ceiling.

"You know," I started slowly. "I remember a time when you were five you climbed to the top of this one-hundred foot pine tree. Dad was freaking out but mom was oddly calm about it all. In the end, you fell, but you landed on—"

"All fours," Noah repeated. I sensed him nod. "Yeah, I remember you telling me that story a long time ago. I didn't believe you for a long time, but distantly I can kind of remember the event."

I glanced sideways at him, smiled, then looked back at the ceiling.

Our conversation was interrupted by a small buzzing coming from the couch. I got to my knees and crawled to it. It was my phone ringing. It was a number I didn't recognize.

"Hello?" I said.

"Ravyn; it's Vergil. I'm wondering if you can stop by The Order headquarters about . . . now?"

I went silent for a few seconds. "Is something wrong?"

"No, nothing at all," he said quickly. "But we have a lead on Mundus. I'd like you to be here when we talk about it."

"Oh, uh, sure," I said, getting to my feet and running my fingers through my hair. "I'll try to be there soon, but I don't have a car."

"No problem. We're in no hurry."

"See you soon."

I shut my phone.

"What was that about?" inquired Noah as I left the living room and towards my bedroom. He got to his feet and followed closely behind.

"Vergil. He wants to meet up with Dante," I said shortly, going through my messy closet and pulling out a pair of jeans and white tank top.

Noah hesitated.

"What?" I said, noting his discomfort.

"You, Dante, Vergil, and that Kat girl—you're all planning something, aren't you?"

Our gazes met.

"Yes."

There was no use in lying to him; he was too smart for his own good.

"Any chance you might tell me what it is?" he continued.

"No."

He released his breath. "Didn't think so. You didn't tell me about that Succubus thing either. You don't really tell me much of anything, in fact."

I motioned him out of my room. He turned his back on me and closed the door behind him. I changed quickly, placing my long black hair in a high ponytail and putting on my pair of favorite black boots.

When I emerged from my room, Noah was sitting in the living room watching TV again. He glanced up as I pocketed my cell phone and approached him.

"I won't be gone long," I informed him.

He nodded slowly. "I'll be here. I might head over to Summer's house for a little bit, so if I'm gone, that's where I am."

"Sure. See you later."

I headed out of the front door and into the sunny atmosphere, squinting slightly in the sudden light. I put on my Aviators and made my way down the street, starting off at a fast walk. The journey was about a half an our by foot so I picked up my pace.

Even if the day was abnormally sunny, the little back alleyway seemed foreboding and dark as usual. I opened up the garage door and entered the hidden code in the brick wall and waited as the retinal scan made its wave over my right eye.

Afterward the brick walls spread apart and allowed my passage. I entered the dark building, glancing around at the few freedom fighters of The Order. Deeper inside I found Dante, Vergil, and Kat all talking.

Dante glanced up as I approached and gave me a sly smile.

"Hey, cat-eye," he said, leaning against the railing behind him and addressing me with his usual cocky mannerism.

"Hey, sasquatch," I smirked. I turned to Vergil. "What's up? What's this new lead we have?"

Vergil gave me a small smile before turning to a computer nearby and began typing away quickly.

"We're going to enter Bob Barbas' tower," he said without peeling his eyes off the screen. I glanced from Dante and Kat to back to him.

"Be kind, please rewind," I said blankly.

Vergil glanced at me with some impatience. "Bob Barbas. The news reporter. He works for Mundus."

"He's also been saying that I'm a crazy terrorist and sexual deviant," snorted Dante, walking next to me and glancing at the computer screen over Vergil''s shoulder, hands deep in pockets. He glanced at me.

"Aren't you?" I laughed under my breath.

"Very funny," he muttered, giving me a half-smirk. Vergil glanced at us.

"So when are we going to do this?" I said. It was Kat who answered.

"Once we lower their security a bit. You and Dante will go in together—"

"As usual," Vergil interrupted unexpectedly. We all glanced at him but otherwise chose not to comment. Kat continued.

"Vergil will be following you both to back you up. So will I. You two will be in Limbo in order to get to Barbas."

"Question," I said, resting my chin on my hand and looking at Kat. "Why is this Barbas guy so important to take down?"

"It's important to take down all of Mundus' followers," said Vergil, causing my eyes to swivel onto him. "Doing so will make him more vulnerable, and that is a necessity."

I nodded slowly. "So, are we estimating about a week when we attack? Two weeks?"

"Not that long. We just have to find a way to get in discreetly," said Vergil.

"Right, well, since Ravyn is our little sneaky cat, that shouldn't be too hard," said Dante, chancing a grin at me. For some reason, Vergil's face hardened slightly at Dante's words and looked at his twin with a sort of suppressed frustration. I couldn't see how a little joke could impact that sort of affect on him. However, I pushed it aside.

"Right. Well, you know me; I'm up for a fight whenever," I said confidently.

"I'll give you a call when I think we're ready. You have my number now so don't be afraid to call me if you have any questions," said Vergil, looking me right in the eye. For some reason this struck me suddenly as uncomfortable and I glanced away.

"I'll give you a ride home," said Dante, looking at Vergil with an odd expression. I nodded and followed him out of the building and into the light. "He's been acting kind of weird lately," he said as we walked to his crappy black car.

I glanced at him as we got in on either side. Admittedly, I was having trouble paying attention to the conversation. Dante wasn't wearing his usual black and red trench coat but merely his white undershirt. Most of my attention was focused on his toned arms. God, I am a terrible person.

"What do you mean?" I inquired in mild surprise.

Dante shrugged, rolling down his window as we pulled out of the alley, and glancing at me again. I looked ahead and frowned slightly.

"So, how are you and the sport doing?" he questioned after a while, lighting up a cigarette. This was such a usual thing for him that I almost found him unrecognizable without on held between his fingers.

I leaned my head on the window, watching the buildings pass by as we drove.

"Today? Strange," I murmured.

He looked at me curiously. "Why?"

I hesitated. He seemed to sense my diffidence.

"You can trust me, Ravyn. After all, I did save your life twice."

I rolled my eyes. "Sure," I snorted. I looked at him. "Today was the day our parents died. It was . . . surprisingly a good morning, but I'm not sure what he's really feeling. We can be getting along at one moment, but then he gets really detached."

I expected Dante to look slightly awkward at this mention of personal info, but he didn't. He just watched me steadily, blowing a cloud of smoke from his mouth and then looking out towards the road again, one hand on the wheel.

"When something like losing your parents happens in your life, you don't just forget, even if you have no memories of it," he said slowly, frowning slightly at the road. "I lost my memories of my parents and life at age seven. They told me meningitis but—it wasn't." He laughed darkly.

There was a short pause.

"Don't you have graves you can go to? It helps when you have somewhere to go to," he said leisurely with another glance at me.

I smiled sadly to myself, leaning my head against the window again.

"No. Any remainder of our parents were burned up in the house fire. And it's not like a ten-year old girl who was taking care of her little brother had any money to pay for empty graves. Even now, I couldn't. We just—" I peered at him, our gazes locking unexpectedly. "Remember."

Another long silence. Dante seemed to be thinking hard about something. I left him to his thoughts and continued to gaze out of the car window at the sky. Eventually, we stopped in front of my apartment. I sighed.

"You can come in if you want," I said, undoing my seatbelt. Dante glanced out of the window at the apartment and gave me a meek smile.

"Nah, I probably shouldn't. You and Noah will probably want to be alone."

My brows furrowed slightly. I wanted to object; I wanted him to come in. But somehow I found myself saying,

"Okay. Thanks for the ride. See you."

"Hey, um, Ravyn?" Dante said awkwardly as I sat up straighter. I looked at him.

"Yeah?"

He paused, looking like he was considering his next words carefully. Finally he met my eyes.

"What were your parent's names?"

I stared at him. "Alcina and James Taylor," I replied blankly. I didn't know why exactly I didn't ask why Dante was inquiring me of this.

He nodded. "See you around."

I got out of the car, walking almost zombie-like up the porch steps. I didn't hear Dante drive off until I was at the front door. Inside, Noah was gone. Must have been at Summer's. I sighed, slouching to my bedroom and slumping down onto my bed, fully clothed. I gazed out of my window, watching the passing by cars drive by or the occasional drug dealer walk through the alleyway.

I sighed through my nose, turning my head on my pillow to gaze at my bedroom wall instead.

_What happened that night, mom_? I wondered, my head pounding_. Why can't I remember? How did you die?_

I received nothing in answer except for a loud meowing noise from my open bedroom window.

.

**Dante POV**

Dante was thinking hard, barely paying attention to staying on the road. He wanted to do something. He had to. He knew he promised Ravyn a 'better date', but he had an improved idea. And he knew exactly where he was going to do it.

Dante drove for a very long time, all the way out of the city and into the more country side of the state. His destination was actually where he was planning on taking Ravyn when he got the chance, but now it was going to be for a different reason. He wasn't sure was his intentions were, he just knew that nothing was going to stop him.

After driving an hour out of the city, he turned onto the dirt path and started driving up the crooked hill. This was a place rarely anyone knew about so the road was obscured overgrown weeds and flowers. He drove straight up the hill, passing by lively trees and other various parts of nature. The top of the hill was his destination.

Once there, he got out of the car and looked around. His eyes landed on a large boulder and smiled slightly to himself. He hoped he wasn't a fool for doing this.

.

**Ravyn POV**

My eyelids fluttered slightly. I had endured a dreamless sleep, for which I was half grateful. I half wanted my dreams of that night to finish, but was also afraid of what I would meet at the end of them. This was of course assuming that these dreams were actual reflections of my past.

My eyes swerved to the window where I saw that it was nearing dark; I had been sleeping for a long time. I sat up straight, stretched my arms high over my head, and then got to my feet. When I walked from my room I saw that Noah was curled up on the couch sleeping with the television still on.

I smiled down at his sleeping face. His expression was so vulnerable when he was subconscious. All over again he seemed to me the little six-year old as he slept. I sighed and pulled the thin couch blanket over him and switched off the TV with the remote.

That was when my phone vibrated in my pocket. I reached down into it and pulled it out. I had a text from Dante.

'**Bring Noah with you outside.'**

I frowned down at the text for a few moments. What was this about?

'**What for?' **I texted back. He replied almost immediately.

'**Just do it.'**

This was rather odd to me. I glanced out of the front window but I didn't see any Dante. But I trusted him so I shrugged it off and knelt down next to Noah, prodding him slightly.

"No . . ." he murmured in his sleep.

"Noah, c'mon. Wake up," I whispered. His eyes opened and landed on me in confusion.

"Why?" he yawned, blinking rapidly and slurring his words slightly. "What's going on?"

"I—don't know yet," I admitted. "Nothing's wrong," I added quickly as he sat straight up, seeming to be a lot more awake and on the alert. "Just get your shoes on."

He frowned slightly but complied, getting to his feet and pulling on his old sneakers. I put on my leather jacket, still looking out of the window.

"Where are we going?" Noah inquired as he pulled on his gray sweatshirt.

"Don't know," I said. We exited the apartment building. Dante was indeed there on the side of the curb, leaning against his car with his hands deep in pockets. He smiled as he saw me.

"Dante, what—" I began.

"Sh. It's a surprise. Get in the car."

Noah and I exchanged looks but obliged. I got in the passenger side as Noah somehow fit himself in the backseat, slightly crunched up by beer cans or other various pieces of junk. Dante drove us out onto the road, smiling slightly to himself.

I didn't have an idea what in Sam hell was going on. Dante seemed to be producing a slightly excited air around him, so I didn't assume that it was anything too dire. I would have presumed he was taking me out like he said he would but it didn't make sense to drag Noah along with us.

"Dante . . ." I said as we were actually driving out of the city. "I don't understand."

"You will," he said with a sideways glance at me a small smile coiling his lips. I glanced back at Noah to see how he was handling all of the junk, but his face was pressed hard against the glass window, fast asleep.

We drove for an hour, getting farther and farther out into the country. I watched the sun set further down the horizon, casting a ruby red glow down on the earth. Then Dante made a turn down a dirt road. It was extremely bumpy and I was amazed that I could still hear Noah snoring.

I now wanted to demand of Dante what was going on, but knew that he would never answer. We drove up and up the grassy hill. It would have been beautiful if I wasn't so confused of the situation. At long last, we came to a stop at the very top of the hill. I still didn't understand.

The view was absolutely breathtaking, looking over a meadow below where I saw a small woods and stream run by. It seemed to untouched, so surreal. I couldn't ever remember seeing a more beautiful place before.

But was this what Dante wanted to show me? The view? And if so, why now? And why couldn't he have told me?

"Dante . . ." I began for the third time. He shook his head, his icy blue eyes meeting mine in the semi darkness. He glanced in the back seat.

"Hey, sport," said Dante, prodding Noah's leg. "Get up."

Noah sat up, blinking around in confusion.

"What . . .?" he said, obviously confused about his surroundings. Dante nodded his head out of the car, indicating us to get out. We both obliged, looking around in a mingle of purest confusion and fascination.

"I'm still not getting it," I said, looking at Dante.

"Follow me," he said. Noah and I looked at each other in uncertainty, but obeyed Dante's request yet again. He was leading us to the brim of the forest and the hill. The sun was barely visible now, its last rays of light stretching across the valley below.

Dante finally stopped walking, and turned to us. I still didn't see anything of significance.

"What—" I said. But Dante pointed down. And at last I saw what he had brought us all the way out to this beautiful land for.

Two stones were perched underneath an ancient, gorgeous willow tree. Its loose branches swayed slightly in the wind, catching the beams of the sun's last light. As I walked closer, I saw that the format of the stones were unnatural, as if someone had placed them there deliberately.

But that wasn't all. On the left stone the words 'Alcina Taylor' were carched into the front of it. On the right, 'James Taylor.'

I stared down at the stones for a full thirty, long seconds, before turning to Dante. He was watching me steadily, no longer smiling, but a look of almost anxious expectancy.

"You . . ." I whispered. I stared harder. "You . . ."

"I'm sorry if they're not that much, but I was thinking over what we were talking about before. Like I said, it's nice to have a place to go when you want to think of them. I know I wish I did."

I had no words. My voice seemed to be literally caught in my throat. Dante seemed to sense this.

"You don't have to say anything," he said quietly. "I just thought—it might be nice."

I looked back at the graves, looking at the words 'Alcina' and 'James'. For some reason, this was almost proof to me that my mother and father really existed, that at one point in life I really did have a loving mother and father who cared and adored for me and my brother. When I came to this conclusion, I realized that was what I was looking for all along; proof that my mother and father really existed, as if I was beginning to doubt it.

I looked towards Noah and saw—that he was crying. There was a thick stream of tears running down his face as he stared unblinkingly down at the grave. I touched my own face and realized that I too was crying without even realizing it.

Dante really couldn't have found a more beautiful place for my parents' final resting spot. Their bodies may not have been under the ground, but the symbolism was enough.

"I . . ." I choked. I glanced to Dante again. He nodded slowly. I turned back towards the graves and knelt beside them, Noah following closely behind. I took my hand in his and for an instant, a sheer instant, I saw ourselves as ten and six again, looking down at our parents' graves as any orphaned child might do.

I touched the one labeled Alcina. The stone's surface was smooth and warm, almost like marble. It inevitably reminded me of my mother's own skin, even if I had no way of actually remembering that.

"I miss you," I whispered, almost not even loud enough for myself to hear it. From nearby, I saw a bush of lavender. I got to my feet and picked a few, handing one to Noah. We both placed them by the graves. We stood there for a few more moments, gazing down at the two stones, a feeling of final ease resting within us.

It was the sensation of having a large weight upon our backs but have come so accustomed to it that we barely recognized its existence anymore. And now when it was released off of us, we felt lighter than air and finally free.

Then, after a long time when dark had finally cast down upon the earth, we walked away in unison, hand in hand, both with dried tears upon our cheeks. Then Noah hugged me. A hug so tight that I felt all of his pain over the last nine years seem to seep out of it. I kissed the top of his head and held him closely to me.

Dante understood. He waited.

"Ravyn . . ." Noah spoke at last. "Do you mind if I . . . if I . . ."

"Yeah," I said, my voice cracking.

Noah gave me a grateful look, and Dante an even more grateful one, then walked to the graves again, sitting on his knees and remained immobile. At long last, I turned to Dante. He remained nothing but a silhouette to me as the light of the new coming full moon was behind him. This gave me an odd impression of some avenging god.

"Dante," I whispered. "I can't even—I can't—"

"You don't have to," he whispered, walking closer to me. "I can be a nice guy when I want to. Just don't tell Vergil."

I gave him a watery smile.

"I've—known you for little more than a week," I said in disbelief, raising my head to meet his eyes again. "And you do this. What sort of angel are you?"

"Only half," he joked.

And then I hugged him. It was a move out of a sort of fiery desperation within me. I wanted to be close to him, I wanted to touch him, I wanted him to _hold _me. I didn't realize how much I craved his embrace until his arms were tight around me.

The move seemed to catch him slightly off guard, but he didn't reject my need. We stood there for a while, the atmosphere turning a dark blue with only the silvery light of the moon for a source of light. Then, at long last, we looked at each other. Our eyes locked and we stood there in comfortable silence.

"You're amazing," I whispered.

He smiled, using his gruff thumb to caress away any remaining tears on my cheek.

"Your knight in shining armor," he agreed.

And then he kissed me.

The affect was nothing how I assumed it would be. Not only did I feel his warm lips come in contact with mine like a lost puzzle piece, but when his mouth brushed mine and his breath entered past my lips, I felt centered. It would be too cliché to use the term 'joining of souls'. I don't think it was anything like that.

It was more like finding a reason to go on. A reason to fight. In his arms, I belonged. In his arms, I felt safe. For the first time in my life I was the one being protected, not the one protecting. Dante was my anchor to this world and in him I felt my serenity and peace. It was like all my life I had been searching blindly for something and only now did I just unexpectedly stumble upon it.

For the first time in nine years I felt safe—and at home.


	8. Loss of Conclusion

**8**

**Loss of Conclusion**

I didn't close my eyes the entire ride back home, and yet if you asked me what it was like, I would have answered that it seemed like I was in a dream the entire time. My head rested on the window and I gazed out of the moon, not entirely in my mind. My thoughts were still back with the two graves perched atop the grassy hill. I realized that Dante couldn't have picked a better place for my parents' final resting place.

My eyes moved to him sitting in the driver's seat, eyes intently staring ahead. Yet when he noticed me looking at him, he gave me the crooked smile before looking away again. I glanced out of the window again, my own smile creeping along my lips.

Noah was quiet in the backseat, but I knew he was fine. He was with his own thoughts and I knew the idea of a final grave for our parents was a comforting idea for him, as it was for me. Though, to be fair, I knew it was harder on him. He was six when they died; he barely remembers them let alone recall what their faces looked like, or what their voices sounded like. That was something no person should ever have to say.

I myself barely remembered them, except for that my mother had a long sheet of black hair that fell all the way down to her waist. Though I remember her eyes consisting of starlit blue, not of green and blue. It seemed the green and blue eyes were something that belonged to Noah and me alone.

An hour later Dante stopped in front of our apartment. Not a single word had been exchanged the entire ride, but it wasn't uncomfortable.

There was a slight pause in which none of us moved. Noah was the first to break the ice.

"I have to get to bed," he muttered. "School."

Before exiting the car, he locked gazes with Dante. I knew he meant to say 'thank you', but then assumed the words too disproportionate for the situation, but Dante seemed to understand. He ruffled Noah's hair.

"Have a good one, sport."

Noah gave a weak smile then glanced at me.

"I'll be out there in a second," I said softly. Noah glanced from Dante to myself, before nodding and opening and closing the car door behind him. He walked up the steps and into the apartment door.

There was a small silence that Dante looked ahead with both hands on the wheel and I looked down at the shift on the car.

"So," said Dante at last. Our eyes met. "You're a good kisser."

I couldn't help but laugh. Leave it to Dante to crack a joke amidst a slightly serious situation.

"This is the part where you tell me that I'm also a good kisser," he continued in a matter-of-fact sort of tone.

I leaned my chin on my hand, smiling at him.

"You make two graves for my parents when you know me for little over a week, then you kiss me right by them. I don't know whether that's romantic or not."

He gave a small grin, glancing at the apartment behind me then meeting my eyes again.

"First time, your brother interrupts us. Second time, I get jumped by a stalker cat. I wasn't exactly going to pass by another chance."

I laughed again under my breath. I glanced to the apartment and sighed.

"I should probably go."

Dante gave me a slightly mock-hurt expression.

"Without a goodbye kiss?"

I just continued to smile at him. This affect Dante had over me was like—nothing I had ever experienced before. I loved him. And no, not _in _love with him. I couldn't claim such an assumption in such a short amount of time. But just simply loved him. It wasn't on the level that you're thinking—not a Rose and Jack _Titanic _love. There was really no way to describe it. I trusted him, I felt safe with him, and all the while still saw him as a person who I could have a good time with.

But perhaps—in time—I could find myself to truly love him. In the meantime, it was still just fun flirting.

We leaned together in unison and once again I felt the astounding and delectable weight of his lips upon mine. I enjoyed the way he kissed. Not too soft or too rough, but merely a perfect balance between the two.

"You probably should go take care of him, though," he said, drawing back reluctantly. I locked gazes with his again and smiled. Biting on my lower lip, I reached forward and grasped his hand and squeezed lightly. He wasn't the only one that seemed slightly surprised by the action. Somehow I was just desperate for some contact with him.

But he gave that crooked smile, leaned forward and brushed his lips against mine again. His warm breath combined with mine as I placed my hand on the side of his cheek. I couldn't get enough of his touch; I revished it. I felt safe, happy, and alive, and at the same time I couldn't believe that Dante could make me feel those things in a short space of time.

The kiss ended too quickly. I would have been happy just sitting here in the car kissing Dante for hours on end, but I knew that couldn't happen. Not yet, anyway.

"I'll let you be on your way," said Dante slowly. He looked slightly disdainful about something, yet he still smiled. "See you when we're next fighting demons, saving the world, or whatever."

I grinned.

"Sounds like a plan."

"Bye, cat-eye."

"Bye, sasquatch."

My cheek earned me another awry smile. He studied my eyes for a few more seconds before abruptly leaning forward and kissing me again.

"So much for goodbye," I laughed in between kisses.

"Stop being so cute and pouty then. You're making this too hard," he replied in a mockingly irritated tone.

He kissed me one last time before withdrawing once more. His distance was more distinct this time as he nodded towards my apartment door.

"He probably needs you now."

I sighed, absentmindedly curling one of my hairs with my index finger.

"Probably." We looked at each other. "G'night."

Another pause.

"Night."

For a split second, there was another moment of hesitation. At the moment, I really, really wanted to stay with Dante and go back with him to his house. The temptation was almost irresistible, but pang of my common sense overpowered my lust.

I needed to be a good girl tonight and take care of my little brother, not gallivant off with handsome Nephilim men with leather jackets and liquor.

I forced myself to open the door and step out onto the curb. Dante gave me one last wink before driving off down the street, then out of sight.

I stood in the slightly chilly air for a few more moments, unconsciously gazing at the spot where Dante had disappeared. I waited for a upcoming homeless man to pass me before turning slowly and walking up the front steps.

I didn't see Noah at first because the lights were off. This struck me as rather odd. Why didn't Noah turn them on when he came in?

I switched them on and glanced around. Noah was not in the kitchen, dining room, nor the living room.

"Noah?" I said, somewhat loudly.

"Yeah?"

I follow the voice to the bathroom and seize a large shock. Noah was standing in front of the mirror with a pair of scissors in his right hand. A few patches of black hair covered the white tiled floor and Noah's previously longish hair, was now oddly chopped up and stuck out in weird places.

"What the hell are you doing?!" I said, unable to stop myself from raising my voice slightly. He glanced at me, closed the scissor blades once more over a piece of his hair, then stashed them in the mirror cabinet.

"Noah . . ." I said, starting to feel extremely worried as I watched him sweep the pieces of his chopped hair on the floor and throw them in the trashcan. "What are you doing?"

He met me in the eyes, then peered down at the ground.

"I don't know," he said blankly. "Just after tonight . . . I feel like I really needed a change."

"Did you feel like you needed to look like you had a lawn mower run across your head?" I said, my voice slightly higher than usual, peering at the mess atop his head. He continued to look down at the ground. With a sudden painful jolt, I realized he was crying silently.

My demeanor softened immediately. I walked forward and enwrapped him in an immediate, tight hug. His response was instantaneous. He buried his face in my shoulder and clung to me tightly as if he were afraid he would fall without my support.

"_Why is it so hard?" _he uttered in a strangled whisper. "_Why them? What did they do they to deserve it?"_

"They didn't do anything wrong," I said firmly, fighting to keep my voice sturdy. I stared straight ahead to the bathroom window, my jaw tightened and eyes slightly wide as I clutched my baby brother in my arms.

"I just wish I knew . . ." he whispered weakly. I could hear the silent plead in his voice. "I _hate _not knowing why they cant be here with us now, and why we can't be a normal family. It's almost worse than their death in general. We both don't have any idea . . . not even who killed them."

I hated it. I hated not knowing what to say or how to comfort him, and then coming to the conclusion that there was absolutely nothing that could be said that would make him feel better. It was a terrible, inevitable feeling of complete, and utter hopelessness.

So all I could do is cling tighter to my younger brother and hope against hope that I could somehow squeeze the overpowering feeling of pure love that I felt into him.

We stood there for a long time, before at long last, we drew back. I peered down at his chopped off hair, frowning. I rubbed his shoulders comfortingly, trying to smile. His eyes were red and puffy, looking like a real wreck next to his hair.

"Want me to fix your hair tomorrow morning before school?" I questioned. Leisurely, he met my eyes and nodded.

I leaned forward and kissed him on his hairline, closing my eyes and refusing to let and tears fall from my eyes.

"Let's finish up this morning's pancakes and fall asleep to some cheesy horror movie," I said timidly. Eventually, he nodded again and managed me a small smile.

"You're amazing, Ravyn."

I shrugged.

"I know."

"Really." He suddenly turned serious. "I can't even—there's not really any words as to how I can express how amazing you are."

I stared at him for a few more moments. When I smiled, it seemed slightly disproportionate.

I hugged him once more before we descended to the kitchen and then living room where we dimmed the lights and indulges ourselves with pancakes and bad movies.

Long before we finished _Dracula _the 1932 film, Noah was passed out with his head perched on the arm of the couch and snoring loudly, his body rising up and down in time with his breathing. I smiled slightly, picking up the plates and placing them in the kitchen sink.

When I returned, I placed a couch pillow beneath Noah's head and pulled a blanket over his body. I shifted one of his chopped up hairs behind his ear and kissed the top of his head. I studied his sleeping features for a few more moments before switching off the TV and leaving the living room.

It seemed like a slightly prominent moment as I entered my bedroom by myself, alone with only my thoughts for company. I stood in the darkness for a while, glancing to my sword sitting atop my bureau. I sighed through my nose, running my fingers through my hair.

For nine years, my parents' death consisted as a constant question and disturbance for me, now it was an obsession. I had to know what happened, I _had _to. How, why, and who. My best guess was Mundus, but why would he care about our family? Because my mother married a human?

I could already tell the second my head hit the pillow that it would be a sleepless night, filled with only disturbing thoughts about my parents and their death. I closed my eyes and tried to remember. I tried to envision even what our house looked like or where it was. But it was useless; I couldn't even remember the dream I had the previous night.

I almost wished that I could sleep to see if I was visited by any more dreams, but the thought was equally as scary.

I breathed in deeply, gazing out of my window. I sat there in silence for a long time, peering absentmindedly outside.

Now, I couldn't say that I was really one for religion, but I definitely believed that all of these things were happening for a reason. If God did exist, why would it place all of these obstacles in front of me? Cause it had a sick sense of humor? What was the _point _of hurting people beyond recognition so they might never be healed again?

I didn't like these questions; they made my head hurt. So I turned to my side and rested on the cool side of the bed, my mind instead drifting off to the possibility that I might see Dante tomorrow.

Now there was a thought that could make a smile appear before I even realized it.

* * *

A/N: Hey there. You might have noticed that these updates haven't been so recent lately, and for this I am so sorry :( I'm having a lot of writer's block with this story and it's just becoming slightly more difficult for me to lay out the chapters and make them equally enjoyable, sensible, and realistic. I'm going to continue writing it, and tips would be more than welcome. If you like/don't like, just tell me haha I just want to know your thoughts.

Reviews would be extremely motivational and might help me update faster. Thank you! :)


	9. Guilty Pleasures

(A/N: Well, holy frick. That took me forever. I'm writing like four other stories on other websites so updates are not as frequent - I am so sorry :( I'll try to write as much as possible! Sorry to tell you that there isn't a lot of action between Dante and Ravyn in this chapter. But let me tell you: There will be. Oh, yes. There definitely will be some pretty hardcore - er - interaction between the two, so to speak ;) thank you all for leaving the positive and motivating reviews :))

If you like the story, make sure and leave a review! If you don't, well, leave a review giving me some critical advice haha but please, don't leave unnecessary hurtful things :/ it doesn't help me and it just makes you look like a dingbutt :P I just made up that insult :D anyway, thanks for reading!)

**9**

**Guilty Pleasures**

**Dante POV**

"Dante . . ."

"I can't hear you."

"Why are you back so late?"

"I said I can't hear you."

"You were with Ravyn, weren't you?"

Dante raised his head from looking down into the fridge, eyes peeling off the leftover pizza wrapped in plastic wrap and onto his brother.

"And if I was?" he said, voice lowering slightly, meeting the identical ice-blue eyes of his twin. "Why would you care?"

"You're getting close to her," said Vergil steadily as Dante grabbed the pizza slice from the fridge and shut it with a little more force than necessary. He pushed past Vergil without looking at him and plopped down on the couch, extending his legs and taking a bite of his pizza.

"You realize how dangerous that could be, don't you?" continued Vergil, sitting down in the armchair and watching Dante with ill-hidden frustration. The feeling was mutual with Dante who could feel a vein begin to throb in his temple.

"I don't remember getting the memo that you were the decision-maker in my life," uttered Dante, picking up the remote and switching on the ancient television.

"Your brother," corrected Vergil.

Dante snorted but otherwise didn't say anything, gluing his eyes back onto the TV.

"Be honest, Dante," said Vergil exasperatedly. "What are your intentions with her? You really think that committing yourself to this girl and risking everything is smart?"

"Whoa, whoa!" said Dante quickly, finally looking at his brother in mild alarm. "Who said anything about commitment? That's not my thing."

Vergil raised his thick brows. "So you're going to risk everything for a—fling?"

Dante ran his fingers gruffly through his hair, glancing at the messy ground. He peered towards the hallway, remembering on the night he had met Ravyn how she had emitted from there in nothing but a overlarge white, button up shirt. Yet even in a girl dressed in a such an attire, the first thing he noticed was her eyes. The right, an unnatural electric, aqua blue, and the other a cat-eye green. Even the way she moved was like a feline, like she was constantly stalking something.

Ravyn was beautiful, no doubt about it, but it wasn't a—normal beauty. Not like the girls he saw down at the strip with their fair blonde hair, tanned skin, and perfect figure and huge boobs. She was beautiful in her own way; eccentric and unique. Perhaps not _Vogue _beautiful but—personality wise, he's never met anyone like her.

Dante came back to reality only to find Vergil watching him leisurely. Dante breathed out his nose, rubbing his eyes irritably.

"What I'm curious about," said Dante finally, choosing to ignore Vergil's prior question. He met his brother's eyes again. "Is _how _my . . . involvement with her is so dangerous when in the first place, I have the media turned against me, demons hunting me down at every corner, and Mundus the almighty demon king constantly keeping an eye out for me? Tell me what more there is to lose."

"You just don't get it," said Vergil snidely.

"Then explain," Dante said, unable to keep a hint of an angry growl from his voice. "I'm all ears, Vergil. I'm really sick of all your damn secrecy."

Vergil folded his hands together on his lap and leaned forward slightly, at first not meeting Dante's eyes. Finally, he spoke after a few long moments.

"We—have no knowledge of what human/demon hybrids are like," he said slowly. Dante frowned. "It certainly was something that was never meant to be. If a devil mating with an angel is considered a crime, you can imagine what demon mating with a human is assumed, when humans in the demons' eye, are considered frail and weak. She is unpredictable."

There was a slight pause as Dante's eyebrows continued to push together.

"So," he said at last, tapping his finger on his chin. "We're just—_assuming _she's dangerous?"

"Well, what do _you _think?" said Vergil, slightly defensively. "Have you ever noticed that her behavior has been slightly out of the ordinary? Think."

Dante thought, but it didn't take long. Has Ravyn ever acted out of the ordinary? Yes. Dante remembered vividly what Ravyn had acted like when they came face-to-face with the Succubus. It was more than just wanting to get the job done; she was sadistic. He recalled seeing the anger burn like flames in her eyes as they watched the disgusting demon wriggle before them.

She had completely changed, wanting to torture the thing beyond requirement. It was something he hoped he would never see in her again.

Dante noticed Vergil still watching him.

"No," he said at last, looking away. Vergil didn't say anything at first.

"I see."

"Now will you stop pestering me? I'm busy."

Vergil studied Dante eating his pizza and staring unseeingly at the television, as if judging whether he should contradict Dante's definition of 'busy'. In the end, he got to his feet and descended into the hallway and a few seconds later Dante heard the door open and close.

Dante let out a low breath, turning off the TV and bending over, rubbing his face with his hands. He had a hell of a headache, and thinking over this 'Ravyn thing' wasn't helping.

He sat properly back down in the couch, his eyes moving to the front door.

Not even Dante was sure what he was doing when he got the 'graves' for Ravyn's parents'. He wasn't usually the type to really give a crap about things like that, and if he did, the most people got was his discreet sympathy.

He hated playing the 'jerk with the heart of gold.' Nu uh. He refused to be that guy.

And as for his intentions with Ravyn, well he wasn't sure. The most his relationship status has stretched were the strippers down at the club. As far as he was concerned, this thing with Ravyn was just another short and pleasant diversion.

She must have felt the same way, right? What were they really expecting to be in ten years, or five, or one, or one month, a week, or even the next day? What kind of future could anyone hope to have in the world filled with demons?

The brutal truth was that the chances of all of them getting out of this alive were very slim. Dante knew that, and he also knew that he had unfairly asked Ravyn to risk her life to help them. He had his own personal intentions to deal with Mundus, but Ravyn really had nothing to do with him.

Right?

**Ravyn POV**

I sat straight up in bed, my chest heaving and breath harsh. I could feel a thick layer of cold sweat over my skin as well as the loud pounding of my heart in my chest. It took me several moments to remember where I was. Finally, my mind registered my dimly lit bedroom. But my heart was still racing.

The dream was too real. I could really feel the blood on my fingers. I actually looked down at my hands just to make sure they were clean. Of course, there was nothing, but my fears didn't cease. I could still picture their bodies perched up on the wall so purposefully. I was still unable to tell whether these dreams are constant nonsense or forgotten memories, but it was frightening all the same.

Almost every night now I have nightmares about my parents' death, and it's almost always the same one; Noah and I traveling through a large manor after our mother is dragged away by some unknown entity and then entering what looks like the foyer and seeing our parents' bodies—nailed to the wall.

What did they mean, and why was I having them now? I thought I was offered some sort of peace after Dante made the graves for them, but I've had nothing but further unsteadiness.

I glanced towards the digital alarm clock on my bedside table. Nearly six in the morning. I heard a door opening from the hallway and watched as Noah's shadow slumping through the darkness and into the bathroom, turning on the shower.

I hugged my legs to my chest tightly, resting my chin upon my knees and glancing out of the window. I wonder if these dreams have any significant meaning? Would perhaps anyone at The Order know how to decipher them? They struck me as rather a more 'science-y' demeanor to them rather than doing things such as interpreting dreams.

What the hell am I talking about? They're an entire organization for hunting down demons; they've got to have a few answers as to at least why I'm having all of these nightmares.

I swung my legs out from under the sheets and promptly got dressed. I left my hair unbrushed and entered the kitchen, pulling out a sheet of paper and a pen and started to write a note to Noah telling him where I would be.

I left promptly, my eyes scanning the top of the buildings' rooftops at the approaching sun. There was a slight periwinkle tinge in the atmosphere, and the morning air was still chilly.

I started off at a healthy jog, my hair swinging from side to side on my shoulders. It was a tangled mess atop my head and was suffering a slight case of split ends. I made a mental note to get it trimmed sometime soon.

My plan was to go to The Order and find Dante—or Vergil—and just ask some casual questions about my dreams. There had to be someone who had some answers.

And okay, maybe I was sort of using the dreams as an excuse to see Dante, but I really did want to know. Also, I was at that point in the relationship that I giggled like a stupid schoolgirl whenever I came face-to-face with him.

Jeeze. I can really be naïve sometimes.

Little more than fifteen minutes later, I turned into the familiar back alleyway and opened the graffiti-covered garage door. To anyone who might happen to enter the warehouse, it would appear to be a normal storage space. That is until you enter the code in the back and pass the retinal scan.

The bricks shifted aside like some occurrence in a Harry Potter movie and I entered confidently. As usual, the building had a sort of bluish tinge to it with a sort of air of detachment. Yet what I noticed first was that it was completely deserted.

I pressed forward, looking at all of the empty chairs in front of the shut down computers. The Order barely had any members to begin with, but the lack of habitation was slightly more distinct.

Upon entering the main room, I was confirmed that no one was inside. Was this regular? I thought there would always be someone here.

"Dante?" I said uncertainly. After a short pause of no one answering, I said, "Vergil?"

Still no answer. Weird.

I continued walking, my eyes drifting up to the windows high above on the wall, letting very little light in.

"Hello?" I called. No reply. I frowned, standing in the semi darkness for a few more moments. Then I moved forward into the back. I realized this was the only place I've never been to before. I imagined it was an office of sorts.

I opened the heavy metal door and peered inside. It was extremely messy with papers spread all over the floor and tables. A few empty pizza boxes were thrown in vicarious places in the dull room and there were some beer or soda cans as well.

I walked in uncertainly, glancing down at all of the papers. Many of them seemed to be newspapers with the front page being some sort of natural disaster or economical disruption. I bent down and picked up one off the computer desk and narrowed my eyes at the title page.

**Family House Destroyed in Fire**

The newspaper was five years old, so of course my first conclusion was false. This had nothing to do with me. It was a family of three; a mother, father, and son. All killed in the fire's flames. But this wasn't all that was out of place. Prominently written across the paper in bold red marker, was the word 'MUNDUS.'

Was this Vergil writing a note over the paper saying that Mundus had—started the fire? It wasn't the first time that I considered the fact that Mundus was the one who had killed my family, but the theory was too frail. To the extent of my knowledge, Mundus had no legitimate reason to want to kill a simple family such as mine.

But I keep on seeing 'fires' everywhere. My house, my dreams, and now this. Somehow they were possibly all connected to Mundus.

I looked around the room again. There was a black ski mask thrown atop the ancient computer on the desk. I remembered glancing at the news once or twice and seeing a man in the same mask trying to reawaken the world about demons who claimed to be the leader of The Order. It had only just occurred to me that that was Vergil.

I glanced back at the newspaper in my hands. The names of the three victims were Andhaka(mother), Focalor(father), and Ammut(son). Last name Thorburn. What bizarre names. But it wasn't the first names that drew my attention to them. Thorburn. Why did that seem so familiar to me? Why would _any _name seem familiar to me? Noah and I had remained private our entire life with no interactions with other families. It wouldn't spark familiarity me unless it had something to do with my parents.

I continued to stare down at the name 'Thorburn' for a few more long moments before letting the newspaper fall to the ground. It seemed that Vergil had become obsessed with disasters. I read other titles such as '_Brooklyn Bridge Collapses' _with the same red marker written across it, except saying 'DEMONS' instead. Or, '_Strange Plague Hits Broken Dam, Maine', 'Dog Gives Birth to Snakes.'_

Over almost every disaster, Vergil had made a single word across it almost as an explanation to it. Some of the stories even went back twenty years from now. What was Vergil getting at? Was he looking for signs of Armageddon or something? I thought it was already perfectly evident.

My thoughts were interrupted by the sudden opening of the door, causing me to whirl around with a sheepish expression prepared on my face.

It was Kat.

"Ohh," I groaned under my breath. "I'm guessing this is a no-entry zone?" Although I wasn't particularly happy about being caught, I was sure as hell glad it was Vergil who found me as I half assumed it would be.

She studied me with her lynx-like gaze, then to the papers spread all over the floor. She met my eyes again.

"It's fine," she said at last. As per usual, she seemed to have a lot on her mind and her voice was slightly dry of happiness. "Vergil doesn't usually prefer people being in here, but it's not like he's hiding anything."

She stepped aside and I took the hint that she meant that I should leave the room. I did; avoiding her eyes as I walked by and back into the main room.

"Why isn't anyone here?" I asked as she followed behind after closing the office door tightly.

"We can't be here _every _day," she stated. "We have days off."

"Where's Vergil and Dante?"

She glanced at me sideways. I felt an odd requirement to give an explanation, but didn't.

"You're really taken with him, aren't you?"

She cracked what seemed to be her first genuine smile. Though it was small, it was comforting to know she could perform a friendly gesture. I couldn't help smiling a little back.

"Do I look really pathetic?" I asked, half laughing under my breath.

"No," she said, eying me curiously. "You look at him with trust, passion, some sort of fierce loyalty. I know because I see him look at you with the same expression."

Slightly taken aback by this little piece of info, I felt my cheeks flush the smallest amount as I glanced away awkwardly.

"You're very—perspective," I said.

"You should be glad you have that affect on him," she said leisurely. "When I first met Dante he was—well, a guy."

"Is he a girl now?"

She gave me another small smile. "You know what I mean. Typical. Careless sex, strip clubs, drinking, drugs, and didn't seem to care about the fate of humanity."

I studied her for a few moments before glancing out at the window where the sun was rising bit by bit.

"Sounds a lot like me a while ago," I muttered.

"Sorry?" she said, who had evidently not heard me.

"Nothing," I said. I took a deep breath. "I just—well, I didn't used to be the best role model for Noah. Or, I wouldn't have been if I let him see me as one. At night I would go ballistic with killing demons, not for protecting humans, but for the sake of killing them—getting rid of a lot of built up anger. I used to involved with some pretty bad people. Do drugs in back alleyways, sleep with violent men, and getting in—near death experiences."

Kat seemed to have noticed my slight pause before I said 'near'. Her eyebrows pushed together.

"What do you mean, 'if I let him see me'?" she inquired.

"I was drug addict teen by night, and caring mother and father by day. Noah didn't know what I was doing when the sun went down. I didn't get out of that stage until I was almost seventeen."

"What made you change?" she asked. Her tone wasn't prying, but curious and understanding. I met her eyes before glancing away again. She nodded slowly. "Sorry. It's not really any of my business. It's just—looking at you now . . . I would have never guessed you were like that."

"I was weak," I said with a half-hearted shrug. "I was one of those teens that had a tough life and went down that dark path of drugs and alcohol. I may have a powerful kick—so to speak—but mentally I've always been a bit unstable."

I was highly taken aback with myself. I had never talked to anyone about this before—not even Noah, not Dante. Almost my entire life I've never had anyone _to _talk to. Never any friends. And out of all people, Kat is the first person I would pour out my past to. I wasn't expecting this. The only friend I've ever had is my own brother and parents prior to age ten.

It felt nice to have someone to talk to. For the first time in my life.

"No," said Kat firmly and unexpectedly. I looked at her. "You would have been weak if you were still like that. I think what makes someone a hero is falling down that dark path, but having the strength to pick yourself up again. Showing weakness isn't _being _weak, it's proving that you're human."

I stared at her, and she stared right back with her penetrating icy-blue eyes. I opened my mouth, closed it, then opened it again.

"Well, where have you been all my life?" I asked in a joking tone, but inside I was silently crumbling. Not with despair, but with the fact that I was expressing my inner and darkest feelings with, and how good it felt to do so.

She just smiled her sad smile.

"Admittedly, I wasn't sure how I felt about you joining," she said. "You proved you were good in battle, but I never knew you apart from what Dante says—"

"Dante talks about me?" I interrupted before I could stop myself. She looked at me sideways. I felt my cheeks flush again.

"I hope you can talk some sense into him," she said. "He doesn't listen to anyone else."

I wasn't exactly sure how to respond so I said nothing.

"Anyway, as I was saying," she said. "I'm glad you're here. Maybe not just as a battle ally—but as a friend."

Our eyes met. Truthfully, I hadn't given much thought to Kat since joining. I've had only a few things roaming around my head for the past couple of weeks; protect Noah, my parents, fighting demons, Mundus, and, well—Dante.

Simultaneously, we smiled.

"Friends," I repeated steadily, as if weighing the word and seeing how it felt to say it. I laughed slightly. "Yeah. I could do that."

.

_'Dreams can often be lost pieces of your past, and your subconscious might be trying to make you remember. Try noting everything in the area next time you have one of these dreams. If you remember, you can maybe see the next lace your dreams takes you and you can see how your parents really died.'_

I considered Kat's words as I sat atop an enormous skyscraper that overlooked the city. It was early night when the sun was just leaving and the moon just rising. I watched the hundreds of cars many stories below race like ants through the busy New York streets.

_We're always in such a rush, _I thought dully. _I wonder when was the last time someone just stopped to look and listen?_

I then thought of my dreams. Did I _want _to know how my parents' died? Truth be told, I had a guilty pleasure of hearing their voices every night—even if they were always screaming. Any incline of their existence was becoming a minor obsession to me.

Kat mentioned that once I get to the bottom of these nightmares, they would probably stop. But did I want them to stop? I'm so scared of losing any possible connection with my dead family that I would be willing to hear their terrified voices every night if that was my only way of having a link to them.

It was sick.

My feet dangled over the edge of the roof as I leaned over slightly, my eyebrows contracting. I shouldn't even be worried by the concept of my dreams right now; I had more important things to think about. Such as preparing for taking down Bob Barbas or even Mundus himself. This whole ordeal made my relationship with Dante seem extremely trivial. The thought dampened on my mood considerably.

Sighing, I got to my feet and jumped onto the fire escape and then climbed all the way down the ladders.

_I get why Dante calls me 'cat-eye', _I thought amusedly as my feet landed on solid ground and started walking back to my apartment. _Besides the eye part, obviously._

I started to kick an empty Pepsi can with hands deep in pockets, still thinking heavily over everything. With the sun completely gone now, the only light was coming from the orange streetlights over my head. The sound was limited to the small breeze and my foot coming in contact with the metal can. The street was completely deserted, apart from myself.

The only good thing I had to say about today was that Kat and me were now getting along. Who knew that the first group that shared personal interest in fighting demons I come across would have people that I could actually be friendly with? Not that I was generally a mean person—I just wouldn't have many social skills growing up without a mom and dad.

Is it just me, or am I really starting to act like a whiney bitch?

I gave a final and strong kick to the can. The impact sent it flying through the air so it hit one of the building walls and rebounded to the front steps of an apartment building. At first, I spotted nothing and continued walking. But then, my half-demon eyes could make out something in the shadow of the porch.

Taking a couple steps back and hands still deep in my jean pockets, I eyed the dark steps. There, right next to the Pepsi can, was the black cat. It stared up at me with those hypnotizing and unblinking green-blue eyes. I eyed it warily.

Its stare was too significant. Too—smart.

"Who _are _you?" I said quietly. The cat's tail swayed slightly. "_What _are you?" I corrected.

Its eyes didn't leave mine, its entire body remaining completely immobile. I could feel goosebumps begin to climb over my arms as a slight breeze ruffled my hair.

"Do you have a thing against demons or something?" I said slightly louder, remembering how it pounced from the window onto Dante. It wasn't just its stare that was unnerving, but the general feeling of deja vu I received when coming face-to-face with it.

Still, it did nothing.

I was past believing this cat was normal anymore. I walked closer to it, its eyes following my every move, keeping perfectly still as I stood little more than a foot from it. I looked straight down at it, opposed to its head tilted up enough for its eyes to remain locked with mine.

"Are—are _you _a demon?" I asked uncertainly. The cat blinked. I got an inspired by an idea. "Blink once for yes, twice for no."

The cat did nothing. I was beginning to feel extremely stupid.

"Right. I'm leaving."

But as I turned to leave, a very loud '_meowr' _was heard from behind. As I turned, the cat was no longer on the steps, but on a silver tin trashcan in the nearby alley.

"How in the . . .?" I said blankly, walking towards it. It seemed slightly more animated as it pawed at the lid of the trash. I blinked. It seemed to be wanting me to open it. As I stretched my hands forward to clench the sides of the lid, the porch light of the apartment suddenly flashed on.

"Who's out there?" said a very gruff, drunk voice. I froze for an instant, my eyes adjusting to the sudden brightness and seeing a very beefy man in a stained pair of boxer shorts and undershirt came stumbling out of the apartment. His beady little eyes found me instantly.

"Who the hell are _you_?" he uttered angrily.

"No one," I said blankly.

"Then get the hell out of my alley!" he said angrily.

Not wanting to be told twice, I moved past the man and out into the street again, only glancing behind my shoulder after I was a few blocks away. I wasn't expecting to see the cat, so when I looked forward again I was surprised to see the cat walking a few feet in front of me, as if taking the lead.

I didn't do anything immediately. It seemed to know the exact location of my apartment by the confident turns it took. Eventually at the sidewalk in front of my apartment, I bent down and lifted the cat into my arms. To my surprise, it didn't resist but began to purr the second my hands came in contact with it.

Inside, Noah was doing his homework at the kitchen table while eating off a large plate of nachos. He didn't even look up as I closed the door behind me. Noah's hair, though much better than the night he had cut it himself, was now slightly uneven and a little choppy after I had attended to it. Unfortunately for him, I had no skill with scissors—or really anything for that matter. Except for maybe my _katana._

"Hey," I said slowly, scratching behind the cat's ear as it continued to purr loudly, its eyes half closed as if it were ready to take a long nap.

"Hi," said Noah distractedly, glancing at me, then doing a double take. He looked at the cat. "Um, what?"

I smiled slightly, repositioning the cat more comfortably in my arms.

"I found a cat. Can I keep it?" I asked as a child might of their parent, grinning.

Noah blinked.


	10. Heavy Rain

**I updated! What do you know! I am so very sorry my beloved readers! It's been too long! I was writing the tenth chapter and was half done when my laptop crashed! I lost everything and had to send my computer into the shop and muster the inspiration to continue! So here it is, at long last.**

**And, warning. I promised some moments with our beloved Dante and Ravyn, and I have fulfilled that promise. Beware if you shy away from sexy moments.**

* * *

**10**

**Heavy Rain**

"Well, shit," I swore under my breath, making a face at the putrid smell protruding from the silver skillet on the stove. I poked the burning pancake within the pan as if attempting to revive it from its blackened state, but it was in vain. I switched off the stove with a sigh and scraped the remains of my breakfast-attempt out of the pan and dumped it into the trashcan.

It was rainy today, much like the other days. Yet it was so dense that was next to impossible to see out of the window.

I looked back at the pan that was still emitting a slight smoke from the burning substance within. I sighed. It didn't really matter, anyway; I wasn't that hungry in the first place and I obviously had way too much on my mind to cook a decent meal. I clicked on the oven fan and made a frail attempt to use the washcloth to wind out some of the smoke.

Noah's head peeked out from around the corner.

"It smells like someone set a factory on fire," he said, making a face.

"Hush," I said, placing the pan in the sink and attempting to chisel off some of the remaining burnt crisps of the pancake with a spatula. Unfortunately, I really wasn't paying attention to how much strength I was using on the spatula and it slid right off of the skillet and went cleanly through the metallic side of the sink.

I stood there and stared at it for a few moments.

Noah did a double-take from the stabbed sink to me.

"Now what did that sink ever do to you?" he questioned.

I took the handle of the spatula in my hand and ripped it out. It had only sliced through the sink about two inches but I was irritated at myself.

"Are you feeling okay, Rave?" inquired Noah, standing up straighter and his eyebrows narrowing.

I didn't answer immediately. I continued to wash the pan and set it aside the rack before turning to face him.

"I'm fine," I said with a small shrug. "Didn't get much sleep."

He didn't look convinced.

"I'm no psychologist or anything, but I'm not sure if stabbing a sink is the best way to work out your anger."

"I didn't do it on purpose," I said. My tone was flat and distracted, and Noah seemed to notice this. He suddenly looked awkward.

"Is—uh, everything okay with, um, Dante and you?" he asked, looking at anywhere but me. I could see his complexion turn to a rusty red.

I looked at him, my mouth slightly open. I suddenly comprehended what he was suggesting. I felt a mixture of slight embarrassment as well as the odd desire to laugh.

"Everything's—fine," I said, attempting to smile. He noticed my pause.

"You're sure?" he asked, looking as though it was causing him a great amount of effort to lock his gaze with mine. You had to give the kid credit for his effort.

"Yeah," I said, running my fingers through my hair. It's been three days since I've seen or contacted Dante, since he had made those graves for my parents. It was against my female nature to not feel as if something was wrong. Actually, I hadn't had any contact from the twins. Though surprisingly I had been talking with Kat, who I was relieved to discover that I genuinely liked the more I got to know her. When I asked her about Vergil and Dante, she said they were merely bust preparing for Bob Barbas.

There was a sudden '_meowrf' _from below and I looked down. The black cat was intertwining itself between my ankles and looking up at me with those eyes that always seemed to hold much more wiseness than the typical cat could ever imply. I bent down and lifted it into my arms where it started an even purr and half-closed its eyes, looking drowsy.

"It still freaks me out," said Noah, eying the cat.

"Why?" I questioned.

"It's like the start of a horror story," he said. "Its eyes are just way too—weird."

I snorted. "Right. Because one green eye and blue eye is such a strange thing to see around in this house."

Noah shook his head.

"I don't mean the color." He bent down lower to meet the cat's mysterious eyes. It looked at Noah, becoming more awake but still purring heavily. "It doesn't seem to be a—cat."

"Noah," I said.

"It seems so . . . human," continued Noah, who hadn't seemed to have heard me.

"Noah."

"Meowrf," said the cat.

"It's a cat," I said. "Not a human."

Noah stood up straighter.

"Whatever. Just saying. What are you even going to name it?"

That was a good question. I wasn't even sure yet my intentions for keeping the cat, yet for some reason I wanted to. I wasn't even sure if it was a girl or boy. But an idea came to me.

"Binx," I said.

Noah raised his eyebrows.

"Binx?"

"Yeah. From _Hocus Pocus," _I said with a small smile, petting the cat atop the head, feeling his furry body vibrate slightly within my arms due to his loud purring.

Noah rolled his eyes.

"You are such a dork," he said. "And your cat is weird."

"Don't be mean to Binx," I said with a mock-hurt face, theatrically shielding Binx. "Go away, meanie."

"If anyone asks, I was adopted and we're not related," said Noah. "I have some homework I need to do."

I laughed, setting down Binx.

"I'm going to go patrolling," I said, feeling in a slightly better mood. Noah looked astonished.

"In this rain?"

"Well, Dante and Vergil haven't been contacting me so I haven't had much to do, and the demons aren't going to kill themselves." I frowned at this thought, realizing how strange it sounded. I shook my head. "Anyway, I'll be back in an hour or two."

Noah hesitated, opening his mouth as if he wanted to say something. But he seemed to push it aside.

I strode to the wall where my _katana _was propped up against. I adjusted its sash to my back and tightened it. I opened the front door and was immediately overcome by the intense and overbearing aroma of fresh rain. It was so loud I almost didn't hear Noah's next words from behind me.

"Go kick some ass," he said.

I turned to face him with a small grin.

"As per usual," I said.

.

**Dante**

He was thinking hard. Almost as hard as the pouring rain that fell from the dense gray clouds above. He had seated himself in a windowsill that belonged to a tall building that was still under construction. It was an easier place to think since back home his brother was driving him up the wall. The only thing that Vergil seemed content with was warning him about his relationship with Ravyn, this being the main reason he hadn't tried to talk to her these past few days.

If he was honest with himself, he knew he should have confided at least some information to Ravyn. But according to Vergil, the knowledge of what she really was, this 'Mou demon', would put her in trouble. But in Dante's opinion, it was just risking her life more. He knew she would be angry for keeping this information from her, and he hated that concept, but he was confused.

He liked Ravyn. He really did. Yet she had sprung into his life so unexpectedly. Quite literally sprung. It had all gone so well so far, and he supposed he was just expecting things to go terribly wrong because he was so used to it ending like that. Vergil was not helping.

Fine time to start a relationship; right in the middle of a war between humans and demons.

Dante released his breath and brought his half-burnt cigarette to his lips and inhaled deeply, feeling the smoke scratch the walls of his throat. He exhaled and watched the white smoke cloud of in front of him and eventually disperse into the rainy atmosphere.

As his eyes moved to follow the smoke until it completely disappeared into the darkness, he noticed something from eight stories below. Someone walking below on the sidewalk. Not walking, but stalking. Stalking in the way that he only knew one girl that hunted like that.

Amidst everything and all of his initial hesitance, Dante smiled slightly to himself.

Well, he knew one thing for sure. No matter what Vergil said or what was right or wrong, he was going to have a helluva time staying away from Ravyn Taylor.

.

**Ravyn **

"I will conquer thee!" I shouted loudly, jumping through the air and landing on the wet grass. Even the demon had to give me a what-the-hell look at my remark. "What?" I demanded. "I'm a demon hunter; of course I have to be a smartass with stupid comments."

I had tracked what looked like another Pathaway demon all the way to a modest park on the south side of the city. If possible, within my time out of the house, the rain had started to pour louder and every now and then a flash of white lightning would stretch across the sky and temporarily light up the area.

My wet hair clung to my face and my clothes were completely drenched, this proving to make it much harder to move around let alone fight a demon that had poison inflicted claws.

"Your friend almost got me last time," I said, not even sure if it could understand me. "Fortunately, I have a knight in shining armor. Or, at least I think I do," I added quietly under my breath.

The demon obviously didn't give a shit about whatever I was saying. It made a lunge and missed my skin by an inch. I darted to my left and felt my hands clasp over the cold, wet railing of the playground merry-go-round. I turned in the air and landed on two other railings.

The demon clicked its claws together menacingly.

I reached backward and withdrew my _katana _just as another strike of lightning lit up the sky. Within that small second I pounced forward and felt the familiar, blood-boiling anger that always seemed to ignite my system whenever coming close to a kill. It was when my instinct took over and my body turned into a sort of automatic fighter.

The demon blocked my first blow, but I aimed a powerful kick right in its mouthless face and it went hurling through the air, hitting a nearby slide. I quickly moved forward. But the thing was not weak in the slightest. It already got to its feet and moved in rapid speeds towards me, trying to break my skin with its great talons.

It didn't cut me, but it did manage to make me soar through the air and land right in the middle of an enormous mud puddle. I stumbled to get to my feet, temporarily blinded from the muck in my eyes. I was covered head to foot in dark brown mud. I would have been unrecognizable to anyone passing by.

"I hate your sense of humor," I muttered, wiping my face furiously. I clenched my _katana _more firmly between my fingers. Both the demon and I moved in unison. When we came in collision, I was dangerously aware of how close its swiping claws were to cutting me.

I jumped to my right and caught hold of a metal pole and swung my entire body around in a circle, my feet pressed together and coming in direct contact with the demon's chest. It hurled through the air and hit the ground hard.

I didn't give a second thought and sprinted forward faster than I would have believed while covered in mud and drenched to the core. I hovered over the demon and drew my sword into the air and swiped it down upon the crease of the demon's neck. I let out an angry yell.

As its head was detached from its shoulders, the green blood squirted everywhere and I was probably now covered in that too. I stood up straighter, my hands shaking. Not from exhaust, but from anger. So much anger. I felt about ready to decapitate the next thing that approached me.

"Hey, cat-eye."

I whirled around in a single move, holding my _katana _tightly between my fingers still, but my grip ceased when I saw who it was.

"Dante?" I said, all anger flooding from my body.

Oh, come _on._

The first time I see Dante in a few days, and I am covered head to foot in mud and demon blood. God has a sick sense of humor.

"What are you doing here?" I asked, loud enough for him to hear me over the rain. "Or, how do you even know it's me?" I added, indicating the mud. I couldn't see Dante's expression in the darkness and dense rain, but I guessed he was giving me that crooked grin.

"I know the way you fight," he said, and I could make out him giving a small shrug. "You fight dirty."

"Your pun is not appreciated."

He was definitely smiling now.

"Nice kill," he said, glancing over my shoulder. "Messy."

"Do you mind helping a girl out?" I asked. "I need to get rid of the body."

"Sounds like fun."

I had expected him to grab one end of the demon and me the other, but he merely picked up the entire body and hurled it over his shoulder.

"No need to be so macho," I said, bending down to pick up the demon's head and flinching slightly; its skin was an odd mixture of rubbery and scaly.

"One can never pass by an opportunity," he said. We walked to the edge of the dense pond. Dante threw the body far off into the water where the splash was concealed by the sound of the rain. I threw the head in after it.

"This is so romantic," I said. "We should do this more often."

"You know what we _should _do?" he asked. "And when I say we, I mean you."

I eyed him tenderly. I couldn't tell if he was acting weirdly around me or not. Of course, I was still completely in shock about running into him so unexpectedly.

"What?" I asked.

"Clean up. I can't see your cute face through all that mud."

Damn you Dante for making me smile against my will.

"My place isn't that far," he said.

I grinned.

"Lead the way, Don Juan."

Dante was right, surprisingly. The walk was less than ten minutes. In the heavy rain I had much of the mud wipe of my face and skin, but some of it still lingered in my hair and on my clothes. There wasn't much use for trying to start up small talk in the rain since it was next to impossible to have a successful conversation without shouting.

For the second time, my eyes landed on the small trailer home set on the docks. I almost cried out in happiness when we walked through the front door and into exhilarating warmth.

"You—look a real mess, sweetie," said Dante as he flicked on the living room light. I was surprised but pleased to see that it looked as though Dante or Vergil had cleaned up the place a little. True, it still had various things lingering on the ground, but it had a definite trace of effort.

"Won't Vergil be mad that we're arriving in the middle of the night?" I asked as I shoved off my wet coat and placed it on the kitchen counter.

"Vergil's not here. He's at the warehouse working late. We're alone."

Oh.

"You can take a shower first," continued Dante, looking me up and down. "You smell like demon guts."

I stuck out my tongue at him and made my way past him. I found the bathroom at the end of the hallway and made my way inside.

Holy shit.

My reflection showed my short self with mud covering my face, hair, and clothing. The green blood had stained into my shirt and was still sticking to my skin. I immediately stripped down and turned on the shower, jumping in immediately when the water turned hot.

I practically devoured the heat and massaged a brand of shampoo into my scalp that smelt like Dante. The same masculine, strong aroma that always protruded him.

I was almost in the shower for a full half an hour washing all of the muck out of my hair and off my skin. When done, the water was almost completely freezing.

I exited the shower and looked around, realizing I had no towel. I opened the door a centimeter and was about to call out Dante's name, but stopped when I saw a pile of something by the bathroom door. I bent down to pick them up and closed the door again.

It was a towel and an overlarge, plain black T-Shirt that I suspected was Dante's. I dried myself with the towel before slipping the shirt over my head. The end of it almost came down to my knees, so I was basically concealed.

I'm surprised he didn't give me lingerie.

I emerged from the bathroom and found Dante lounging on the sofa in the living room, a remote in his hands and his eyes were glued upon his crappy television that had a lot of static. He was flicking randomly through the channels and only looked up when I sat by his feet.

"There's your face," he said, sitting up. "You were in there a while. Tell me there is still some hot water left."

"I don't like to be the bearer of bad news," I said, feeling slightly guilty.

Dante shrugged.

"Don't do anything I wouldn't do," he said.

"There's nothing you wouldn't do," I said with a small smile.

He merely winked and left to go to the bathroom and take a cold shower.

I sat there awkwardly for a few moments. I checked my watch to see that it was nine-thirty. I still had some time before I needed to go back to the house. Not that I, uh, needed time. Not that we were going to do anything.

Right?

In all honesty, it would be hard not to. For me, at least. I won't deny that I wanted him. To be perfectly frank, it was not to see Dante without him turning me on.

Well, fuck.

I stood up, choosing to sate the rumbling in my stomach and find something to eat in the kitchen. However, when I opened the fridge, I found nothing but boxes and boxes of leftover pizza and beer. I frowned and picked up a pepperoni slice and a Bourbon.

I ate quietly at the counter, looking around with more interest than I had the first time I was here. I glanced behind my shoulder to the sofa, the first place I had ever laid eyes on Dante. It was a weird thought.

A lot has happened since that night.

I sipped the beer in thoughtful silence, thinking where I would be now if it weren't Dante. I wasn't one to find joy in the fact that I had been a damsel in distress, but I couldn't deny that that was exactly what I was. I had nothing to do but be grateful.

Ten minutes later Dante emerged from the bathroom with merely a crimson towel wrapped around his waist. He smiled when he saw me.

"You don't eat your crusts?" he asked.

"I'm sorry," I said blankly.

Dante smirked as he walked past me and towards the fridge where he pulled out another beer and opened it on the side of the counter.

"So what exactly were you doing by that park?" I inquired as I took another sip from the drink.

"Stalking you," said Dante casually. I arched an eyebrow. "Well, I saw you earlier and knew you must have been hunting. I was going to come and help you but you already had things under control."

"For once," I muttered.

"What?" he asked.

"You've already saved me twice."

"You're welcome," he said, still smirking. I had a small twinge of annoyance, but ignored it. We drank in silence for another few moments.

"Do you know what's going on with Bob Barbas?" I asked.

"We're still prepping up. We came across some minor problems, but we should be able to go within this week or so."

I didn't answer. I was supposed to take Noah to his concert next week. I was abnormally determined to do this.

"Can I wash my clothes?" I asked.

"Knock yourself out," said Dante, taking another sip from his beer.

I got off the stool and walked into the bathroom and gathered up my sodden clothes and walked into the laundry room and threw all of them into washing machine. When I walked back into the hallway, Dante was just walking out of the bathroom, this time with a pair of blue jeans on but still no shirt. He was in the process of wrapping a red stone necklace around his neck. I had never noticed it before.

"Nice necklace," I complimented.

Dante looked down at it as if he didn't know what know what I was talking about. He looked back up at me.

"My mother gave it to me."

"Who was she again?" I asked.

Dante glanced to the wall, a shadow of a faint and sad smile on his face.

"Eva."

"Your angel side?"

He met my eyes.

"Yeah."

I studied him curiously.

"Do you remember her?"

Dante leaned against the wall and stared at nothing in particular, his expression thoughtful but pained.

"Barely," he replied. "What memories I do have of her are her dying."

I felt a surge of sympathy as well as understanding.

"I hardly remember mine either. Not even what she looks like. I don't have anything from my parents, actually. Just my _katana_."

Dante looked at me, a curious smile on his face. There was a small silence. It had only just occurred to me how much Dante and I have in common. But demon half-breeds, lost our parents at a young age, had one item only to remember them, and both have a fierce and fiery anger towards the demon race.

"I have a picture of her," said Dante suddenly. He almost forced it out. I glanced back up at him. He was peering away, looking slightly apprehensive. But he met my eyes again. "Do you want to see?"

I was slightly taken aback, but nodded, watching Dante with a curious eye. He nodded his head in the direction of the door beside us and opened it. His room wasn't as bad as I envisioned. It of course had clothes sprawled all over the place with empty pizza boxes here and there. Though it was hardly worse than Vergil's.

I had never been in Dante's room before, and besides the mess, it seemed to have some aspect of him. It scent, definitely. Much like the shampoo in the shower. A strong masculine fume that reminded me of being inside of a deep forest in the middle of a rainstorm.

Dante turned on the light and led me to the side of the bed and picked up a picture frame off his nightstand and handed it to me. I gazed down at the material.

Four people were in the picture; two young boys who didn't look any older than seven, a woman with long, dark red hair, and a tall man. But the man's face was concealed by a violent crack in the lens case. I wondered vaguely why Dante didn't get a new frame. Yet it was no wonder to me who the man was. Sparda. It had to be. It was clear that Dante really had no wish to even see his father's face.

I first looked at the woman. Her face was open, slender, and . . . well, angelic. Her full lips were curved in a smile that lit up her light eyes, eyes that I could see even in the picture resembled Dante's arctic-blue ones. Her face held kindness and wonder. Even if I knew absolutely nothing about her, I loved her just from the picture I held in my hands.

And yet . . . her face held such familiarity within me. Something that I was not expecting. Inside, something screamed that I knew this woman, yet that couldn't have been possible. I hadn't met Dante until a few weeks ago and had no contact with him whatsoever beforehand. I pushed it out of my mind.

I then looked to the two boys, one locked arms with Eva, the other with Sparda. The one with the mane of white hair held Sparda's hand, the black-haired one with Eva. All were smiling. All were happy.

I smiled down at the baby Dante. His eyes were alit, his smile wide, and his stance playful. He looked sincerely happy. I looked back up at the grown Dante.

"I got this in our old house a few months back," he said, answering my unasked question. I looked back down at the picture.

Strangely, it reminded me of my own good memories, though I had spare few.

"You look so happy," I said quietly, still smiling.

"I couldn't tell you," said Dante.

Another silence.

I sat on the end of the bed, still holding the picture but now looking at Dante. He was looking down at me with an indecipherable expression. Eventually, he sat next to me and I handed his picture back. He placed it back on his nightstand before turning to face me again.

"Where do you see this going?" he asked.

I let out a low breath.

"Well, we take out Bob Barbas, any other left of Mundus's little spies, then eventually kill Mundus himself, save mankind, and save the world. Should be a piece of cake."

"That's not what I meant."

I met his eyes.

Ah.

I looked down and tried to fight an embarrassed grin. It wasn't the good type of embarrassment though; I felt like I was on the spotlight and even though I had run this scenario through my head a million times, I really had no answer.

"Would it be bad if I said I don't know?" I asked sheepishly.

He shrugged.

"Your answer is as good as mine."

There was another pause.

I wasn't expecting things to become awkward; it never really was with Dante. I found myself being able to be myself around him freely without any unnecessary effort. And to top it off, I was never good with these things to begin with. Though something told me Dante was as inexperienced with relationships as I was, not that that made it any better.

But, I did know what I _was _good at.

I turned to face Dante, a sort of fiery determination mixed with white-hot anger boiling up inside me. Dante seemed to notice sudden change of demeanor. His dark brows furrowed and he looked at me with a questioning expression.

I took Dante's hand in mine and shifted my leg around Dante's waist so I sat in his lap, looking down at him with his hands still in mine. Dante's expression would have been priceless if he didn't know how to keep his cool. He looked up at me with a certain type of wonder with the eyes that I so admired and loved.

"Can we just forget about all the other details for now?" I whispered. "I don't want to think about Bob Barbas, or our pasts, or Mundus. I just want to think about you."

Dante looked highly taken aback. He obviously wasn't expecting this, but it was evident he wasn't against what I was referring to. Yet—he looked troubled, somewhat. I could tell there was something lingering in the back of his mind, and it was that exact something I wanted him not to think about.

Without taking another breath, I bent down and kissed him full on the lips. Dante was momentarily shocked. Momentarily. Though he picked up the gist pretty quickly. His hands moving up my legs to rest on either side of my waist and pulling me closer into him, I took my right hand and cradle the side of his face. The kiss deepened, and all of the sexual tension I've been experiencing the past few weeks with Dante was finally becoming remotely satisfied.

His tongue slithered in past my lips, creating a rhythm with my own. I nibbled slightly on his lower lips and he grinned into the kiss. Delicately, his fingers trailed up my lower back and through my loose drying hair. He combed his hand through it, seeming to enjoy the effect.

Now I took either side of his face in my hands and pressed him on his back on the bed. My hair acted as a curtain around our faces as I sat upon him, already feeling his hard member underneath his jeans.

My hands explored his bare and defined chest. His skin was still wet from the shower, allowing my fingers to travel more easily across him. I pressed my lips just above his pant-line where the defined 'V' shape emerged from and placed soft kisses from his midriff to his chest. Dante's entire body stiffened and clenched a hand behind my head and forced my lips back onto his.

His hands touched the brim of the overlarge T-Shirt that I wore and just barely started to shift it upward, as if not sure whether to proceed or not.

I wasn't exactly sure how to make my intentions any clearer than I already was.

Dante took hold of my waist again and lifted me upward, taking me slightly by surprise. He turned me so I was lying on my back and now he mounted atop _me. _We took a moment to look into each other's eyes before indulging ourselves once more.

His delicious weight pressed against mine as his lips left mine momentarily to kiss down my neck and then to the crease of my shoulder. My chest elevated slightly as I released a soundless gasp.

Dante returned his mouth to mine. Even now I could feel the area between my legs tingle into moistness. God, it was almost terrible agony. We were so close, and yet it only left the feeling of not being able to be close _enough. _

Painful bliss.

Dante once more took the end of my shirt but wasn't so hesitant this time. He lifted it to my ribs and then completely over my head. I lay before him, only wearing a simple pair of white panties. Dante feasted his eyes upon me lying half-naked in front of him, as if savoring the moment.

He caught my eye and the corner of his wonderful lips coiled upward in a devilishly handsome smile.

"You almost look a lot like how I imagined you would."

I raised my eyebrows.

"Almost?"

He drew nearer, his lips an inch away.

"My imaginative skills do not even compare to the real thing," he whispered, his breath brushing against my skin in sensual waves. I shivered beneath him.

Dante drew back once more, but only to draw his tongue between the valley of my breasts. I let out a sharp gasp, my hands traveling through his sweet-smelling hair. His sweat leaked off of his in erotic fumes, enhancing his masculine scent even more.

His right hand moved to massage my left breast, not too rough, but not exactly gentle either. He seemed to know exactly much pressure to apply without hurting me but also make me become aroused.

Dante played with the brim of my underwear, pulling it down, then up, then toyed with it more. I let out an annoyed breath.

"You're teasing me," I breathed.

I received nothing in answer but a wicked smile from him.

I reached down and softly rubbed his groin area, feeling his rock-hard member against my fingers. The idea pleased me. Dante let out a repressed groan as I took my hand away.

"Now you know how it feels," I snapped.

Dante merely continued his playful smile.

He cradled my face with his hands before bending down to kiss me again. While his lips moved with mine, I reached down for his belt buckle and began to undo it. I could feel Dante's breath become quicker and his kissing more fervent as I began to pull the pants down his waist.

His hands traveled from my hip to the moist area between my legs, still covered up by my panties. With two fingers, he rubbed my most sensitive area, causing me to arch my neck and let out a rugged and strangled gasp. He rubbed harder, seemingly to enjoy his effect he had on me.

He met my eyes as he slid my underwear aside and stroked my clit, only suggesting the idea of actually entering me. My breath quickened and my heart seemed to stop numerous times, and my face began to have hot, red patches splatter all over my complexion.

"Dante . . ." I whispered, as he lifted me onto his lap once more, his hands entangled within my hair and kissing me fiercely again. Space didn't exist between us, and the fast pounding of my heart only mirrored my desire for Dante.

And that was when the fucking door opened.

I wouldn't have noticed it if hadn't been swung open so violently and hit the wall, making a loud _bang. _I jumped, but remained entangled within Dante's arms. We separated instantly, both of ours eyes darting to the person standing in the doorway.

Vergil's face was murderous.

* * *

**I hope you guys don't kill me for the ending. Especially after not updating for so long. Now that I have my laptop, I can update more frequently. Any who, make sure to review if you liked! They are so motivational and I love, love, love them!**


	11. Angst of the Brothers

**I am such a lousy person. I promised frequent updates but here I am about a month later updating. You all have the right to be mad. I've been writing on other websites on several other books and have been abandoning Ravyn and Dante! Also, shame on me for leaving you guys at such a large cliffhanger. Please forgive me? Ill give you a chocolate chip pancake.**

**I'm having so much fun writing this story but it's even more fun to see that you guys are enjoying, too!**

**This chapter both has some mushy romantic monments as well as some not-so-mushy moments. Got to keep a balance!**

**Thank you everyone who has been reviewing and giving me your thoughts so far! You have no idea what it means! Please continue to tell me your thoughts!**

**But without further ado:**

**11**

**Angst of the Brothers**

The following silence was one of the loudest ones I've ever heard. For a moment, nothing whatsoever happened. On the contrary, everything had just happened so quickly that I was still comprehending that something _did _happen at all. All I could do was sit still and hope that the materialization of Vergil was a hallucination. Unfortunately, the world was not in my favor.

Vergil's angry eyes landed upon his brother's, each of the twins' expressions identical to the last crease line. Though Vergil spoke in even tones, his anger practically fumed off of him like a fire, though it was nothing compared to Dante.

"Dante," said Vergil at long last, breaking the everlasting, painful silence that I was afraid might never be broken. "May I have a word with you?"

Dante sat up so quickly that I was surprised he didn't accidentally throw me against the wall. His icy eyes were fixed with undeniable seething anger as he registered them onto his twin brother. I half-assumed he was going to attack him.

"I've had it up to here with your shit," Dante growled. In truth, I was still so taken aback from the situation that I had forgotten to grab for the blankets to cover myself up, leaving me exposed to Vergil. But he only had eyes for Dante.

"Can we talk in private?" Vergil said through clenched teeth, ignoring Dante's last comment. I couldn't see why he was so mad. Yet the reason for Dante's anger was painfully evident.

"I need you to stop butting in my life," Dante said, his voice still lowered to frightening tones. "What I do in my personal life is none of your fucking business."

Vergil stared him down with the same indistinguishable arctic-blue eyes as his brother.

"We've already discussed this," Vergil said, his calm voice sounding on the verge of breking from suppressed rage. And in lowered tones: "I thought you agreed to discontinue this relationship?"

I blinked. They had talked about me? And about Dante not being able to be with me?

"It doesn't make any sense," said Dante hoarsely. "She's in danger either way."

"What are you guys on about?" I intervened quietly, looking from one twin to the other, my eyebrows contracting.

Neither one of them answered or looked at me. I fixed my gaze upon Dante instead, trying to meet his eye as if hoping this might be his kryptonite, but he wasn't letting me.

"What is going on?" I questioned.

Once again, he didn't answer.

All at once I felt a surge of hurt and anger.

But then again, I was one to talk. In my time with Dante I hadn't been the most honest person in the world, and that sort of meant I couldn't judge Dante for his silence.

"Maybe I should just go," I muttered.

"No!" said Dante instantly, his gaze turning to me with icy flames. "You're not going anywhere."

"But—"

"Dante, I've warned you of the risks," continued Vergil, his voice strained from effort of keeping it calm. He turned to me. "Ravyn—Leave. Now."

The supreme order and demand in his tone almost frightened me. But I sat still, meeting Vergil's penetrating blue eyes and wondering what the hell was going on.

Dante moved swiftly forward, catching hold of Vergil's forearm and held it tightly within his grasp. His face was right up in his with his entire expression contorted in silent fury.

"Do _not _tell her what to do," Dante said quietly, with a definite snarl to the edge of his tone. Vergil looked his brother in the eyes. "I am not going to let you control my life."

"Control your life?" laughed Vergil. The smile on his face was cold and his eyes were like two slabs of ice. "I'm the one who helped you remember it. Without me, you wouldn't even know who you are."

Dante's expression shifted slightly, his eyes moving to the ground before looking up at Vergil again. His face was still dangerously close to Vergil's. Yet he didn't say anything, and I was under the impression he couldn't think of anything _to _say.

"You don't have any right to control my life," growled Dante.

"No, I don't. But you're my brother and believe it or not, Dante, I _do _care for you. I want to save you from the hurt before it becomes too late."

And with that, he turned, the brim of his black duster coat sweeping around his feet as he left the room, leaving the only sound to be that of the pouring rain outside.

I almost would have preferred that he didn't leave. The silence that ensued after his departure made it almost unbearable to look at Dante. And as it appeared, it seemed to be the same for him. He looked determinately at ground as I stared at the wall as though it suddenly fascinated me.

Some part of me didn't want to understand what Vergil had been trying to tell us, but another part had no difficulty in comprehending. But for now, I ignored this.

"I really _should _go," I muttered at last, breaking the ice. "I have to get back to Noah." Dante's eyes flickered up to me for a second and for a moment I thought he was going to protest again, but after a second he simply nodded once.

"Don't listen to him," Dante said firmly and unexpectedly. "He doesn't know what he's talking about."

Despite all my initial feelings, I raised my head to meet Dante's eyes with a sad smile. There was just something about Dante that I was so close to understanding yet I could never precisely place my finger upon it. He had a certain angst that was determined to make everything right, and I admired him for that.

Slowly, I raised a hand for him to take. Getting the gist after a moment, Dante took it and I drew him closer to me, placing a tender hand upon his bare chest, directly over his heart. I looked up at him and continued to give him that sad smile which he weakly tried to imitate.

"I don't need you to tell me that," I said softly, intertwining my fingers within his soft hair and bringing him down closer so that his forehead pressed to mine. My voice lowered to a whisper. "I don't need to you tell me that he's wrong."

Dante's brows pushed together and looked down. He opened his mouth but I raised a finger and pressed it gently to his lower lip, his silence complying at once. His eyes, so close already, met mine.

I smiled a little more brightly and laid my lips upon his. Dante immediately responded, but not in the fiery passion as it had just been; it was longing, desperation, and an absolute need. Inside, I was jumping at the concept that I could make Dante feel that way, as my feelings really weren't that different.

It was soft, gentle, and—loving.

After a few moments, I broke the kiss so that our foreheads touched again. He was now returning the smile although was obviously put out that the kiss had ended so quickly. He wasn't the only one.

"I have to go," I whispered. Dante breathed out of his nose, lifting his hand to run his fingers through my hand as I rested mine on the back of his neck.

"We _will _continue this," Dante said impishly, making me laugh. I brushed my lips upon his once more, feeling the familiar tingling sensation run from my mouth throughout my entire body like sparks.

"Count on it," I said.

I backed off before I wouldn't be able to resist him anymore and picked up Dante's overlarge black T-shirt and slide it over my head. Dante leaned forward, wrapping his arms around my body and across my chest, his face buried in my hair. I smiled against my will, biting down on a small laugh.

"Won't you stay?" he whispered.

"And risk Vergil barging in again? I'd like to keep some of my pride," I said, trying and failing to keep the smile from my voice.

"We don't have to do _that,_" he continued, tracing his fingers up my forearm so that every hair on my body lifted, leaving a trail of goosebumps along my skin. "I like having you here."

God, this guy was going to be the death of me. How can I possibly say no to him?

I turned to half-face him over my shoulder and I could see the delight on his face to see my smirk. He planted a kiss on the side of my forehead, leaving me to close my eyes and sigh in content.

"But Noah," I whispered, but I was fighting a losing battle. Not only against Dante, but myself. My need to be with him overpowered any other thought in the back of my mind.

"An hour," breathed Dante, brushing aside my mane of hair so he could place another kiss on the nape of my neck. I bit down fiercely on a large grin. "Just an hour. We can sit here for that whole time if you want to. I just don't want you to go yet."

Damn him!

I turned swiftly to face him, half-laughing though I was still mentally hitting myself for having no willpower to resist him. I jumped him so that he fell on his back and I sat on his waist again, playfully hitting him.

"Damn you!" I laughed, his hands ensnaring within mine as he grinned that mischievous grin up at me. "Damn you and your charms! You are the Devil, Dante!"

At this, he actually laughed and I only just realized the irony of my words. He placed his hands over my lower back and pulled me into him so that my body pressed firmly against his and my hair curtained over our faces.

"Only half, cat-eye," he grinned before bringing me in for another overwhelming and delicious kiss.

.

Under my breath, I hummed a soft tune as I handed over a ten dollar to the cashier over the counter. I took the apple pie into my hands and turned to meet Noah with a smile.

"Why are _you _in such a good mood?" he asked, speaking as if it was a crime.

"Oh, no reason," I grinned. I held the pie out for his inspection. "Freshly baked from the farmer's market."

Noah glanced at it.

"Yeah, but pie is hardly ever a legitimate reason to make you so happy. You're like Minnie Mouse on ecstasy. You've been grinning like the Cheshire cat all day."

I giggled a the metaphor, causing Noah's eyebrows to rise even further.

"Look, it's a beautiful day. The sun is shining for the first time in a long time and we have pie. What's not to be happy about?" I asked as we exited from under the shade of the pastry tent and started walking further through the farmer's market.

"Whatever," said Noah, shrugging and glancing over to examine a booth that sold kettle corn.

I nudged him playfully in the side with my hip, causing him to stumble slightly but it earned me a small grin from him.

"Man, you should hang out with Dante more often," he laughed, bumping back into me.

I swallowed a laugh as I felt my face redden slightly.

"What makes you think I was with Dante last night?" I asked.

"I didn't say anything about last night," he said, smiling smugly. "But where else would you be?"

"Okay, smart ass. It's not what you're thinking," I said huffily, though still grinning ear to ear.

"And what am I thinking?" he inquired.

"Just hush and let's walk to that coffee shop we passed on the way up here and have some pie," I suggested.

"Right," he smirked.

We left the farmer's market and walked down the sidewalk a few blocks down. I wasn't completely lying when I said that the weather had an impact on my mood. Lately, it hasn't been very sunny at all and the cloudy-ness seemed to have a severe affect upon all of the residents of New York. Now that the sun as finally shining brightly in the sky, the entire city's mood seemed to have lifted with it.

We arrived ten minutes later in the small but cozy coffee shop. We sat ourselves in the homey corner upon two crimson poofs and ordered two coffees. I cut ourselves two slices of the steaming apple pie and happily dug in.

Yeah, at the moment I was at the peak of happiness. I was confident about taking down Mundus and his followers, everything was going well with Dante(apart from the intrusion from Vergil), and I was taking Noah to his first concert in a week.

Unexpectedly, my phone buzzed from my back pocket. It couldn't have been anyone other than Kat, Dante, or Vergil considering they were the only other three who had my number besides Noah.

I reached for it and flipped it open.

**Kat: Ravyn I need you to get down here.**

Confused, I typed back: **Why?**

**Kat: It's sort of an emergency.**

I stared down at the text, my brow furrowing until finally I let out a shifty breath and put it back into my pocket.

"I have to go," I told Noah, realizing that my happiness of course had an expiration date.

He looked surpirsed.

"Dante stuff?" he asked.

"Not sure," I admitted. "You okay for walking home?"

He gave me a slightly irritated look.

"I'm almost sixteen; I know how to walk back to our house," he said.

"Right," I said absently, stuffing the last bits of pie into my mouth and forcing it down my throat. I ruffled Noah's mane of black hair as I stood up and left the shop. I ended up taking a subway to the warehouse, preparing myself for the worse when I passed the retinal scan and entered the code.

_Had they found a way into Barbas' lair? _I wondered as I walked through the dimly lit hall. It was much more occupied than the last time I was here. Many of The Order members were seated at their computers and glanced up as I approached. As far as I could tell, nothing seemed too dire.

"Is everything fine here?" I inquired of a random member who peeled her eyes off the computer screen as I approached.

She barely opened her mouth before I heard a loud _CRASH _from the main room and jumped.

"You just can't mind your own business, _can you?" _yelled the angry voice of Dante.

The next drawling voice was unmistakably Vergil.

"Oh, speak for yourself, _brother!" _he shouted back in a long and sarcastic enunciation. "You couldn't even mind your own space when you brought those sluts back from the strip bar and invaded my room _all _night!"

"Will you both _stop _it!?" shouted the anxious voice of Kat.

Another _crash._

I entered the large main room, blinking blankly at the scene that was set before me. Both Dante and Vergil were being contained by merely tiny Kat who stood between them, pressing back with all her might upon each of their chests in attempt to keep them separated. Each of the brother's were right in each other's faces which were both beet red with anger and fists clenched at either side. Around them were various shattered glass pieces that the twins had evidently thrown at each other.

What in the absolute fuckery had I just walked in on?

"At least I don't keep my nose stuffed in a book twenty-for-seven!" Dante shot back. "At least I actually work around here! Do you see yourself doing any of the chores around here, huh? 'Fight the hunter demon, Dante', 'kill the Succubus, Dante', 'take down Bob Barbas, Dante'! At least _I _get shit done around here!"

Vergil's face, if possible, contorted with even more anger than before.

"You wouldn't be anywhere if it weren't for _me!" _Vergil snapped. "At least I have some brains. You act first and think later! This entire organization would be lost without me!"

"Oh, Ravyn, thank God!" Kat squealed, her eyes widening with relief as she saw me standing there, completely flabbergasted. Poor little Kat was being practically squished between the twins without them heading that much notice to her.

Only then, did Vergil and Dante take their murderous eyes off each other and turned in unison to look at me.

"So . . ." I said slowly. "Everything going okay? You guys need some water? A punching bag? Psychiatrist?"

In the brother's slight hesitation, Kat was able to push herself out and escape, bending over and resting her hands on her knees.

My interruption had obviously dampered on some of the brothers' wrath, but definitely a generous amount of seething anger remained as a firey flare within each of their eyes. They looked determinately at anywhere but each other. I could practically see the veins in their temples throbbing.

"_This _was the emergency?" I asked Kat, almost weak with relief.

"You didn't see them before," Kat muttered irritably, glancing over her shoulder at the twins who both actually had their arms folded like small children. "I'm surprised they didn't take out their swords and start battling each other."

I frowned at the brothers, releasing a small sigh through my nose.

"Guys, kiss and make up already. It's been two days," I said.

"Make up? With _him?" _Dante snarled, shooting a daggered glare over at Vergil. "I'd rather go out with the Succubus."

I blinked.

I knew this all started just because Vergil interrupted Dante and me in his bedroom and this was certainly hitting a pressure point for Dante's manly pride. But nothing good was going to come out of this. Each of them were acting like small school boys and I felt like the teacher who was trying to resolve everything.

"We're not going to be fight Barbas if you guys don't make up and start working together," I said, actually half amused but also deeply annoyed.

"Why don't you just send Dante to go do it since he clearly thinks that all you need is a good punching arm to raid an entire demon fortress," Vergil snarled.

"I probably _will _end up doing that seeing as I'm the only one that ever does anything!" Dante growled back.

"You couldn't find your way into Barbas' tower if I drew you a map and placed you right in front of it!"

And then they were at it again, up in each other's space and shouting so loudly that it was now indecipherable about what either of them was saying.

"Men are hopeless," said Kat.

"They're acting like preschooler boys," I muttered, watching as the brother's shouted each insult one after another into each other's faces.

"They're acting like brothers," said Kat. I glanced at her and she gave a small shrug, folding her arms and watching the brothers' showdown with narrowed eyes.

I too watched them, then rolled my eyes and strode towards them.

_Time to go up and be the adult, _I thought humorlessly.

Dante and Vergil were both too deep in their argument that they hadn't even noticed me approach them. I forced myself between them and with all the strength I could muster, I planted each hand on their chest and forced them apart. It didn't have the effect that I would have wished since I imagined each of them hitting opposite sides of the wall, but I least I was able to lift them off their feet and send them flying apart.

"Both of you!" I shouted angrily. "Stop it! _Now!" _

Both of them were so surprised by my sudden intrusion that all anger was wiped off their faces and stared at me in complete surprise. My assertive manner didn't cease, however. I was really eager to give both of them a piece of my mind. I was really happy not thirty minutes ago and I wasn't going to let stupid brother angsty ruin that.

"You are both full grown Nephilim men!" I said, as if this was a normal thing to say. "If you want to save the world, you have to stop fucking arguing about such trivial things and start worrying more about preparing to kill Bob Barbas! Now loosen up those thick skulls of yours and look at the big picture! You don't have to like each other; hell, if you want hate each other all you want. Just don't let it get in the way of the mission!"

A stunned silence ensued after my little speech and my face was flushed slightly with anger, but I felt satisfied.

I relaxed my muscles a little bit and shifted my hair behind my shoulder, glancing at both Dante and Vergil on either side of me.

I was glad to see that at least a small bit of guilt showed one each of their faces. I looked to see that Kat was grinning widely at me.

"Sorry," muttered Dante finally, raising his head to look at me. I nodded shortly before glancing at Vergil. He looked affronted as he realized I was expecting the same from him. But he swallowed his pride and looked away determinately.

"Yeah. Sorry," he mumbled, not at all convincing.

Though I didn't complain.

"Good," I said, my voice softening.

Kat though still didn't look so convinced as I was.

"Dante, why don't you help me running over the blueprints again for Barbas' tower?" she asked tentatively. Something told me this had been done many times before but she was just aiming for an excuse to separate the twins for a good long while. I couldn't have agreed more.

Dante met my eyes, looking at me with some shame and answered Kat without taking his eyes off me.

"Yeah, sure," he said in a monotone.

He and Kat exited off into one of the back rooms, leaving Vergil and I standing there. We would have been alone if it weren't for the few other members on their computers but they didn't talk at all so it was if they weren't there.

Nonetheless, I was glad to have a chance to talk to Vergil without the company of Dante or Kat.

"Listen," I said tenderly, making sure I drained all firm authority from my voice so he would acknowledge my soft tone. "I've, uh, been meaning to talk to you."

To my surprise, Vergil turned his back to me and when he spoke his tone was as icy as his eyes.

"Does this have anything to do with the that time two nights previously?" he questioned.

Edgily, I nodded, then remembered he couldn't see me.

"Yes."

I saw his head nod once. He raised his hand and indicated me forward with his finger. With a slight pause, I followed behind him and realized he was leading me to his office. It was as I remembered; papers scattered all over the floor and with the mask he wore on the news perched on one of the desks.

"My office," he said, even though he need not since I was here previously. But he didn't need to know that. "This is where I examine all of Mundus' moves and find out about his followers."

"Ah," I said awkwardly, not sure whether to sit in one of the chair or remain standing. I decided on the latter and stared determinately at Vergil's back. "Okay, I'll just skip to the chase. I guess I understand your reasons for thinking that Dante and I—_wrong _for each other," I started leisurely. "But that's really not for you to decide. I still don't understand your point, but I'm ready to hear you out."

Vergil stood there with his back still facing me for a few moments. It was impossible to tell if he was angry or not when his face was hidden, but I stood my ground, ready to answer whatever he may ask.

"You're telling me you haven't thought at all of what I said to the pair of you back there?" he asked.

"I didn't understand what you were getting at," I said defensively.

Vergil took his time in replying, then slowly, he turned to face me.

"Very well, Ravyn," he said, standing importantly and meeting me with those eyes that only now I just noticed held a bit more ice than his brother. "I'll tell you why I am so against your relationship with Dante."

I waited, biting down on my cheek, my eyebrows remaining in their narrowed state.

Vergil jumped into explaining much sooner than I expected.

"Look at the pair of you," he said slowly, his gaze flickering slightly to the door behind me than back onto my gaze. "You're building up a relationship on the verge of a potential apocalypse, acting as if everything is going to be okay. People are going to die. Maybe you," he added. "Maybe my brother. Maybe me.

"You and Dante have both committed yourself to fighting demons, and now Mundus. You are both aware, I hope, of the dangers that follow this. I'm not going to promise that any of us will get out of this alive."

"I still don't understand," I said. "What has this got to do with Dante and me?"

Vergil looked at me.

"My question being: Are both of you prepared to getting close now only to endure the pain of possibly losing each other in the fight against the demons?"


	12. Camping Trip

**Hey guys. So I don't have the best news. I'm going on a camping trip for three weeks and won't have access to my laptop or Internet at all, so I won't be able to update for that amount of time. But I will be hand writing so I can have a bunch of stuff to copy down once I get back!**

**Thanks for understanding! I love you guys so, so much! Thank you all who have been reviewing/favoriting!**


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